Relates to the crimes of falsely reporting an incident in the first and second degrees

Showing the cosponsors who are on Agora, A to Z. The official record may list more.

• Republican8
• Democratic2

This bill has cosponsors from more than one party.

Shown in neutral colors by design; Agora is non-partisan.

◆ The sponsor's argument

Why Christopher Ryan says this is needed

In March and April 2023, over 50 school districts across the State received reports of emergency incidents that proved to be false. A barrage of calls and emails reported emergency incidents that ranged from bomb threats to the alleged presence of an active shooter. One call, which involved an active shooter threat, garnered a police response and lockdown at Westhill High School in Onondaga County. Other reports have targeted school districts in the Hudson Valley and the Capitol Region. Luckily, State police were able to recognize that these allegations were baseless. State police are now working to identify the source of the reports. False incident reports are often made with the intention of causing the deployment of police Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) teams to provoke a further incident with a specific individual or group. Such occur- rences, which are commonly known as "swatting" incidents, can be both a waste of emergency response resources and a potential harm to the targeted individuals or groups. SWAT teams have responded to numerous false reports of emergency situations across the country in which the possibility of a serious threat has resulted in innocent persons being injured or killed. Chapter 561 of 1999 added subdivision 5 of section 240.60 of the Penal Law, which established that it is a class D felony to knowingly initiate a false report of a fire, explosion, or the release of a hazardous substance on school grounds. These laws are meant to deter potential false reports and ensure public safety from a baseless incident. This bill would expand the penalty for false reports to include the use of a deadly weapon or dangerous instrument, which would, in the future, apply to the threats posed by swatting incidents. Falsely reporting an inci- dent to provoke an emergency response is a serious crime that could result in innocent lives being lost. Expanding the definition of false- ly reporting an incident in the first and second degree, would deter false reporting of emergency incidents and uphold public safety. This bill would expand criminal penalties for a person that conveys a false or baseless report to include the false reporting of the use of a deadly weapon or dangerous instrument.

This is the sponsor's own case for the bill, quoted from their memorandum. It is not Agora's description of what the bill does.