4 ms·

Police Departments Are Using Swatting Registries to Protect Swatting Targets

23 points by MaysonL 7y ago

zackify 7y ago
Perfect place to rob or hold hostages! Places on this registry
- docdeek 7y ago
  Not so much - as the article notes the police still visit and sweep the place, they just don't arrive with guns drawn, and they even send plain clothes police instead of SWAT teams. My question, though: what makes someone likely to be swatted? Is it their online expression of an opinion? Membership of a certain online sub-culture? A high real-life profile?
  - TACIXAT 7y ago
    It seems to happen often to streamers and people in the computer security community (Krebs, fb exec, mudge).
    - FDSGSG 7y ago
      >mudge Preettty sure that was just a misguided welfare check incorrectly described as a "swatting". See context: https://twitter.com/dotMudge/status/1211043309973622784 https://twitter.com/dotMudge/status/1211043309973622784 Odds are someone was worried about him after his tweet, not that someone called the police and pretended to have hostages at his address. It's certainly never appropriate in the US to call the cops if you think that someone might be suicidal, but I don't think it'd be entirely inappropriate to be concerned by his initial tweet.
      - soup10 7y ago
        I don't know what happened with mudge, but "welfare checks" where the person calling has ulterior motives for involving the cops in a situation are a common thing as well.
    - tiku 7y ago
      Live streamers are perfect targets for swatters because they even stream the swatting itself..
wallace_f 7y ago
ACLU report on militarized police: War Comes Home: The Militarization of American Police(1) 1-https://www.aclu.org/report/war-comes-home-excessive-militarization-american-police https://www.aclu.org/report/war-comes-home-excessive-militar... To whoever downvoted this because they didn't like it: This is just a listing of further reading material on the topic, from America's leading civil rights organization.
- 1000units 7y ago
  The ACLU is a demonic organization, having promoted the recent decriminalization of knowingly infecting people with HIV in California. I think a SWAT team should show up at these "civil rights" "activists'" homes and escort them into mental institutions as non-violently as possible.
  - Cougher 7y ago
    The terrible decision of one group doesn't make good the terrible actions of another group.
    - 1000units 7y ago
      I'm not condoning the "militarization of police" (a euphemism for the use of excessive violence), but rather arguing that the evidence presented here for any systemic excess is highly untrustworthy, by nature of the publishing authority being plainly demonic.
      - Cougher 7y ago
        You bring up an isolated example as proof of a systemic problem. But really: "plainly demonic" Ok Reverend Robertson.
        1000units 7y ago
        No: I am denying this particular systemic problem exists in the manner it has been presented. I encourage you to read what I've said more closely, because you have things flipped completely. I don't know who Reverend Robertson is; I'm Catholic. Virtually everyone with a 90+ IQ believes in the existence of evil and demonic behavior, regardless of their theological background. It is worse than foolish to discard these ideas for the sake of performative middle-brow antitheism.
duelingjello 7y ago
So... the big question is does each SWATing registry share across city (city PD), county (sheriff), state (several LEAs) and federally (many LEAs) so there’s coordination? And, if a location were gamed to get placed on a registry falsely, wouldn’t that be a good place to commit a crime where the police wouldn’t respond? Rather than lists of “go/no-go,” I think police on the beat need to utilize Good Judgement, and especially heightened caution when they’re gearing-up with flash-bangs, body armor and long rifles. Maybe SWATing registries should be used as ephemeral advisories rather than a definite preemptive, decision-maker. PS: This seems like a good topic for Mike The Cop, Officer401 and/or DonutOperator to cover.
- squarefoot 7y ago
  "And, if a location were gamed to get placed on a registry falsely" It would be extremely stupid to put "don't swat" pins on a map just because an unknown told them to do so. I would expect the cops to accept such requests only after ensuring they come from someone with any legit links to that location (owner, leaseholder, etc.) by going there at least once, identify the applier and hear their reasons for the requests, which would also help in case of a bogus swat call to find the authors or get closer to them.

23 points by MaysonL 7y ago

zackify 7y ago

Perfect place to rob or hold hostages! Places on this registry

docdeek 7y ago
Not so much - as the article notes the police still visit and sweep the place, they just don't arrive with guns drawn, and they even send plain clothes police instead of SWAT teams. My question, though: what makes someone likely to be swatted? Is it their online expression of an opinion? Membership of a certain online sub-culture? A high real-life profile?
- TACIXAT 7y ago
  It seems to happen often to streamers and people in the computer security community (Krebs, fb exec, mudge).
  - FDSGSG 7y ago
    >mudge Preettty sure that was just a misguided welfare check incorrectly described as a "swatting". See context: https://twitter.com/dotMudge/status/1211043309973622784 https://twitter.com/dotMudge/status/1211043309973622784 Odds are someone was worried about him after his tweet, not that someone called the police and pretended to have hostages at his address. It's certainly never appropriate in the US to call the cops if you think that someone might be suicidal, but I don't think it'd be entirely inappropriate to be concerned by his initial tweet.
    - soup10 7y ago
      I don't know what happened with mudge, but "welfare checks" where the person calling has ulterior motives for involving the cops in a situation are a common thing as well.
  - tiku 7y ago
    Live streamers are perfect targets for swatters because they even stream the swatting itself..

wallace_f 7y ago

ACLU report on militarized police: War Comes Home: The Militarization of American Police(1) 1-https://www.aclu.org/report/war-comes-home-excessive-militarization-american-police https://www.aclu.org/report/war-comes-home-excessive-militar... To whoever downvoted this because they didn't like it: This is just a listing of further reading material on the topic, from America's leading civil rights organization.

1000units 7y ago
The ACLU is a demonic organization, having promoted the recent decriminalization of knowingly infecting people with HIV in California. I think a SWAT team should show up at these "civil rights" "activists'" homes and escort them into mental institutions as non-violently as possible.
- Cougher 7y ago
  The terrible decision of one group doesn't make good the terrible actions of another group.
  - 1000units 7y ago
    I'm not condoning the "militarization of police" (a euphemism for the use of excessive violence), but rather arguing that the evidence presented here for any systemic excess is highly untrustworthy, by nature of the publishing authority being plainly demonic.
    - Cougher 7y ago
      You bring up an isolated example as proof of a systemic problem. But really: "plainly demonic" Ok Reverend Robertson.
      - 1000units 7y ago
        No: I am denying this particular systemic problem exists in the manner it has been presented. I encourage you to read what I've said more closely, because you have things flipped completely. I don't know who Reverend Robertson is; I'm Catholic. Virtually everyone with a 90+ IQ believes in the existence of evil and demonic behavior, regardless of their theological background. It is worse than foolish to discard these ideas for the sake of performative middle-brow antitheism.

duelingjello 7y ago

So... the big question is does each SWATing registry share across city (city PD), county (sheriff), state (several LEAs) and federally (many LEAs) so there’s coordination? And, if a location were gamed to get placed on a registry falsely, wouldn’t that be a good place to commit a crime where the police wouldn’t respond? Rather than lists of “go/no-go,” I think police on the beat need to utilize Good Judgement, and especially heightened caution when they’re gearing-up with flash-bangs, body armor and long rifles. Maybe SWATing registries should be used as ephemeral advisories rather than a definite preemptive, decision-maker. PS: This seems like a good topic for Mike The Cop, Officer401 and/or DonutOperator to cover.

squarefoot 7y ago
"And, if a location were gamed to get placed on a registry falsely" It would be extremely stupid to put "don't swat" pins on a map just because an unknown told them to do so. I would expect the cops to accept such requests only after ensuring they come from someone with any legit links to that location (owner, leaseholder, etc.) by going there at least once, identify the applier and hear their reasons for the requests, which would also help in case of a bogus swat call to find the authors or get closer to them.