Bomb threats and evacuations

[Danger_Man]

Sometimes places are evacuated based on bomb threats. I understand the reasoning, that it is just something we cannot afford being wrong about.

But it strikes me as a very easy way to have someone expend resources. What stops someone from just making constant anonymous bomb threats? When do they stop taking them seriously?

[Telemark]

@Danger_Man

What stops someone from just making constant anonymous bomb threats?

With the proper application of resources, nothing is anonymous.

[Irishman]

@Danger_Man

But it strikes me as a very easy way to have someone expend resources. What stops someone from just making constant anonymous bomb threats? When do they stop taking them seriously?

You mean you haven’t already heard about this happening? It’s going on now with numerous state legislature buildings, schools, libraries, etc.

It’s not only a waste of time, it’s emotionally draining. It’s a form of intimidation.

It is also a federal felony.

[Danger_Man]

Sorry, I’m not in the US, so I have not heard about it.

[Q.Q.Switcheroo]

There’s still time to the solution proposed in this infamous SDMB post:

Should responding to a bomb threat be illegal by federal law?

It has occurred to me that the disruptions caused by bomb threats - aircraft put out of service, entire buildings evacuated and hours of time wasted - cause more lost human lifespan and money than bombings themselves. So I have the following solution. By federal law (trumping state law), it is *illegal *to respond to a bomb threat unless the caller identifies themselves in a unique way as an individual who has already committed a bombing. In the IRA days, the IRA would sometimes call in their…

[dolphinboy]

Another version of this is called Swatting, where someone calls 911 and reports there is an armed person inside there house holding them hostage. Law enforcement ends out the SWAT squad and surrounds the building with officers carrying high-powered rifles, ready to engage, only to find it’s all made up. Imagine how terrified the occupants are when they hear the police breaking down their front door with guns drawn.

Here’s an example of a recent incident that happened in North Carolina. Swatting is becoming more prevalent and can consume almost as many resources as a bomb threat. It can sometimes be used to divert LE resources away from some other criminal activity happening somewhere else.

[DocCathode]

Here in Philly, a bomb threat was e-mailed for a Drag queen story time hour. A mysterious box was left outside the library where the event was going to be held. It was later found to be filled with coloring books. Last I heard the e-mail was said not to have been sent from in the US.

[DPRK]

There are code words used to authenticate bomb warnings:

Codewords that prove terrorists are the real thing

IRA Code Words Spell Real Threat

On the other hand, madmen who want the bomb to go off and kill hundreds of people don’t bother calling it in.

[Chronos]

[Moderating]
I don’t think there’s really a factual answer to someone’s motivations for doing or not doing something like this. Moving to IMHO.

[WildaBeast]

@Danger_Man

What stops someone from just making constant anonymous bomb threats?

Nothing, really. When I was in high school we had a few such bomb threats; at least one of them was called in from the school payphone, by a student trying to get out of a test he didn’t study for.