SWATting ought to be a felony.
https://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/2017/12/30/all-over-a-stupid-video-game/
@pzmyers I think the trouble is less with the content of the video games themselves, violent or otherwise, and more to do with streaming culture which facilitates these sorts of "pranks".
If anything, it's less violence in games so much as *competition* in games, which is marketed directly to a particular young male demographic, while little is done about the toxicity that comes with it.
@pzmyers I wouldn't blame it on the games themselves. It happens even with fairly placid titles. And outside of gaming too - almost any online dispute can escalate that way.
But, on the fee occasions that it's happened outside of the US, it seems that it was handled much better, which speaks to the other half of the problem.
A secondary problem here is this would not be the serious problem it is in the United States if the police didn't have to go in like the fucking military every time they receive a call like this. Â There is a principle in law enforcement training - at least the training I received a long time ago now mind - called 'proportionate response'. Â Which is to say you need to respond to a situation with the appropriate tools for the situation - and should be trying to de-escalate that whereever possible (as a matter of efficiency). Â Going in full Rambo style because of an anonymous phone type, is the exact opposite of a proportionate response.