False alarms prompt tighter police measures in Rockland County

Two fake emergency calls were made in one area in Rockland County over several days.

Diane Caruso and Rob Taub

Aug 7, 2023, 9:34 PM

Updated 430 days ago

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Rockland County officials are trying to crack down on false alarms after two emergency calls were made over a few days span.
On Saturday, residents in Suffern were the latest to have a police response in their neighborhood after a call that said, "dangerous events could happen.” The incident happened a few days after another bogus call in the village on Thursday.
"The mayor quickly informed everybody that it was another false alarm,” said one Suffern resident.
Investigators found a teenage boy in Florida allegedly responsible for that swatting incident.
"In essence, a cat and mouse game to be able to find who is doing it,” said PCC Secure’s Sal Lifrieri.
A legal expert told News 12 depending on the circumstances, there are three different degrees of state charges in the state for falsely reporting an incident or there could be a federal charge for false information.
"If it's a one-and-done, it makes it much more difficult,” added Lifrieri. “But a lot of times you'll see repetitive calling from the same person. And the more that they do that, the easier it becomes for us to be able to identify who that caller is."
Suffern Mayor Mike Curley says the incident from this weekend is still being investigated.