SCHUMER -- AFTER STANDING WITH STUDENTS ACROSS NEW YORK TO HIGHLIGHT RISE IN DANGERIOUS "SWATTING' ATTACKS -- APPLAUDS FBI HEEDING HIS CALL TO FINALLY BEGIN TRACKING THIS DANGEROUS CRIME AND CREATE FIRST-OF-ITS-KIND NATIONAL DATABASE FOR SWATTING TO HELP LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AND KEEP COMMUNITIES SAFE

Press Release

"Swatting is a pervasive, dangerous, and expensive crime that has plagued communities across New York with fear and sent local law enforcement scrambling for answers. Yet, after years of increasing attacks, there has been no proactive effort to track, let alone stop, swatting attacks in their tracks. Finally, After I stood with students across Upstate New York, from Lockport to Troy, to demand the FBI start treating these swatting "pranks' as the dangerous crime that they are, the federal agency has heeded my calls and is not only tracking these crimes, but also launching a new centralized command center to log them in, helping local law enforcement to exchange, track, and share information like never before.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Prior to my calls there was no proactive effort to track swatting incidents on the national level by the federal government. This critical step will help law enforcement across the country better understand the increases in this disturbing trend and help better hold criminals accountable for the panic they cause from swatting attacks. I am proud to see the feds taking action to help curb these dangerous swatting incidents and I won't stop fighting to give law enforcement the tools they need to put an end to this disturbing trend once and for all."

Source