Miley Cyrus 911 Prank Could be Sign of Teen 'SWAT-ting' Epidemic

By Dennis Romero Thu., Aug. 9 2012 at 9:08 AM

@mileycyrus

After cops swarmed the Studio City mansion of Miley Cyrus last week based on a false report of a home invasion with shots fired, experts are warning that such hacker-like pranks, called SWAT-ting, are all the rage with teens.

And this could be (cue Fox 11 News-announcer-voice) dangerous for your child.

The thing with SWAT-ting, apparently, is that it's too easy, especially for the ...

... overindulged, bratty, unbearable kids of today who have way too much free time.

The folks from the site uKnowKids sent us a handy primer on this devious activity, noting that teens can easily mask their phone numbers via services such as Spoofcard. This and other apps also let them change their voices.

This is, then, way too much technology for the LAPD.

Seriously, though: Calling out rifle-toting officers and a chopper to a celebrity's house costs money and takes resources away from other communities.

Internet safety expert Tim Woda:

@mileycyrus

Many teens who engage in online gaming, chat rooms or social media may be at risk. Miley Cyrus and a few politicians have already been victims of this vengeful act.

As it stands the Cyrus caller, if he/she is ever found, could be on the hook for a year behind bars under California law. But it's still a misdemeanor.

uKnowKids says that legislation is in the works nationwide that would see much as $10,000 worth of fines and four years behind bars for SWAT-ting convicts.

So forget sexting, drugs and The Hunger Games. The real danger for teens these days is learning how to game 911.

[@dennisjromero / djromero@laweekly.com / @LAWeeklyNews]

Tags:

911, LAPD, Miley Cyrus, prank call, SWAT-ting, swatting, teens

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ceanf9

maybe SWAT teams should only be used for their original purpose (ie hostage situations) and not for responding to routine police calls. 'shots fired' is not a reason to send in the SWAT team (neither are drug raids for that matter).

funny that the author's focus is on the conduct of juveniles and not that of the police who want to dress up and play soldier for the slightest of reasons and under the false pretext of 'officer safety'

neophrates

@ceanf9 yea... except the SWAT team was never sent to the house. the prank is simply called "SWAT-ing". there is never a mention of an actual SWAT team being sent, and the video on tmz doesn't show any SWAT.

smsch67

@ceanf9 Thanks Mr. authority on every single criminal situation in the world. There is never a time for only certain teams to be sent. They are disbursed and sent as each situation warrants. In this case, because of the nature of the situation it was fully warranted.

ceanf9

@smsch67 oh you are more than welcome. but i have to disagree. there are specific situations that SWAT teams should be deployed for, hence the 'special' in 'special weapons and tactics. shots fired and serving routine warrants are not the reason SWAT was conceived and they should not be using it in that manner.

but you know what the ironic, and sad thing is? when SWAT really IS necessary, they sit back and wont enter because its 'too dangerous' (read: columbine). yet they are more than willing to execute what amount to paramilitary raids on innocent people to serve routine warrants, or respond to shots fired calls, where they are not necessary. its much easier to play soldier when the risk of getting shot really isn't all that high, isnt it?

the militarization of our police officers, and the use of paramilitary tactics as routine policy against innocent americans is wrong and disgusting.