What's happening
This bill expands the crime of falsely reporting incidents to include making false reports intended to trigger a large police response.
Why it matters
Targets “swatting” and similar acts. By specifically including false reports intended to bring about a large police response, the bill aims to address the growing problem of "swatting," where individuals make hoax calls to provoke armed law enforcement raids, often putting innocent people at significant risk.
Expands what counts as a felony offense. The new language means that people who knowingly make false reports with the intent to cause a large police deployment can be charged with a class E felony, even if the report does not specifically reference fires, explosions, or hazardous substances.
Aims to deter misuse of emergency resources. The bill is designed to discourage the wasteful and dangerous diversion of police resources, which can delay responses to real emergencies and endanger both officers and the public.
Addresses public safety and psychological harm. Beyond physical danger, false mass police responses can cause significant trauma and fear for those targeted, and this legislation recognizes and seeks to reduce that harm.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Ban Fake Police Call Swarms
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
3 Co-sponsors
History
- Referred to codes
- Referred to codes
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Ban False Police Swatting
In Assembly Committee · Codes · Sponsor Scott Gray
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
46
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE (Prefiled)
January 8, 2025
Introduced by Sens. WALCZYK, MURRAY, ORTT, TEDISCO -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Codes
AN ACT to amend the penal law, in relation to falsely reporting incidents in an attempt to bring about the dispatch of a large number of police officers to a particular address or location
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Section 240.55 of the penal law, as amended by chapter 477 of the laws of 1989, subdivisions 1 and 2 as amended by chapter 561 of the laws of 1999, subdivision 3 as renumbered by chapter 302 of the laws of 2001, and subdivision 3 as added and the closing paragraph as amended by chapter 301 of the laws of 2001, is amended to read as follows: § 240.55 Falsely reporting an incident in the second degree.
A person is guilty of falsely reporting an incident in the second degree when, knowing the information reported, conveyed or circulated to be false or baseless, [he or she] such person:
1. Initiates or circulates a false report or warning of an alleged occurrence or impending occurrence of a fire, explosion, or the release of a hazardous substance or in an attempt to bring about the dispatch of a large number of police officers to a particular address or location under circumstances in which it is not unlikely that public alarm or inconvenience will result;
2. Reports, by word or action, to any official or quasi-official agency or organization having the function of dealing with emergencies involving danger to life or property, an alleged occurrence or impending occurrence of a fire, explosion, or the release of a hazardous substance which did not in fact occur or does not in fact exist or an alleged occurrence or impending occurrence of an incident which did not in fact
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD00124-01-5
exist in an attempt to bring about the dispatch of a large number of police officers to a particular address or location; or
3. Knowing the information reported, conveyed or circulated to be false or baseless and under circumstances in which it is likely public alarm or inconvenience will result, [he or she] such person initiates or circulates a report or warning of an alleged occurrence or an impending occurrence of a fire, an explosion, or the release of a hazardous substance upon any private premises or such person initiates or circulates a report or warning of an alleged occurrence or an impending occurrence of an incident in an attempt to bring about the dispatch of a large number of police officers to a particular address or location.
Falsely reporting an incident in the second degree is a class E felony.
§ 2. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall have become a law.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the penal law, in relation to falsely reporting inci- dents in an attempt to bring about the dispatch of a large number of police officers to a particular address or location
Purpose or general idea of bill
To deter the misuse of valuable police resources by those who falsely report incidents in an attempt to require the dispatch of a large number of police officers to a particular address or location.
Summary of provisions
Section 1 of the bill amends the penal law to amend the crime of falsely reporting an incident in the second degree, to include incidents when such a false report is made in order to facilitate to dispatch of a large number of police officers to a particular address or location.
Read the full memo (817 words)
Section 2 sets the effective date - 90 days after it becomes a law.
Justification
Under the current penal law, a person is guilty of falsely reporting an incident in the second degree when, knowing the information reported, conveyed or circulated to be false or baseless, he or she circulates a false report of an alleged or impending fire, explosion or release of a hazardous substance. Falsely reporting an incident in the third degree is a class A misdemeanor.
While false reporting of a crime is unfortunately, not an uncommon occurrence, increasingly, localities are seeing incidents where such false reports are filed which require a large police response. Such incidents are also known as "swatting" when someone makes a hoax call to 911 to draw a response from law enforcement, especially to draw the SWAT team. Swatting incidents usually target a specific person at that location. The person or party that calls often says that they are witnessing or involved in an active shooter or hostage situation. Authorities confront the situation, often with an armed SWAT team, only to learn that it was all a hoax.
Such recent incidents have included Watertown police responding to a targeted house on five separate occasions for a report of a shooting. Three times they responded with long guns drawn and pointed at the house, however each time police were sent there for incident s that were false. The family and the police were victims of "swatting incidents" which endangered the residents of the targeted address including an 81-year-old and an 88-year-old father, a 16 year-old son and very young children. The same house was targeted by the report of a house on fire,resulting in firefighters having to respond. Again, it was a hoax,precipitated by a video game being played over the Internet.
Swatting incidents place police in difficult positions. And even when they suspect a hoax, they often must respond or risk criticism if an incident proves true and they did not law enforcement failed to respond.
In another recent incident in Onondaga County, deputies responded to a suspected "swatting" call after a man called 911 claiming he s hot and killed his girlfriend. Officials say the man also indicated that he would shoot responding law enforcement officers. SWAT members responded to the scene and nearby homes and businesses were told to shelter in place and roads were closed off to all traffic during the incident.
Swatting hoaxes can turn tragic, as happened in Kansas when a reported homicide and active hostage situation, resulted in the fatal s hooting of a resident by an officer who mistakenly thought the man was reaching for a gun. It turned out Finch was unarmed, and the reports of a homicide and hostage situation were false. The incident, investi- gators said, appears to have been a swatting hoax that originated in a dispute between online garners. Nearly 1,400 miles away in Los Angeles, police arrested accused swatter Tyler Barriss, 25, on suspicion of making the false police call that led to the fatal police shooting in Kansas.
The damages from such false reporting are much bigger than just a dollar amount. Scores of law enforcement and emergency personnel must respond to such false incidents, putting lives in danger only to find out that no such response was necessary because of a deliberate false report. Amending the penal law to provide that "swatting", or falsely reporting an incident in an attempt to bring about the dispatch of a large number of police officers to a particular address or location, is necessary to deter the occurrence of such crimes and to preserve and protect our overstretched police and emergency personnel, as well as to protect innocent residents.
Prior legislative history
A8657/S6740 (2019): Referred to Codes
A4370/s1893 (2021)
Referred to Codes
A2977/s4283 (2023)
Referred to Codes
Fiscal implications for state and local governments
None to the state. The bill is expected to save local resources by cutting down on the number of police responses to falsely reported inci- dents.
Effective date
90 days after it shall have become a law.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.