DAYTON, Ohio — Dozens of schools and facilities across the state have been iaffected by swatting, which are hoax calls where the caller claims there's an active shooter situation.

A new law is looking to deter this behavior by making it a felony. 

 What You Need To Know
  • HB462 is a new law that makes swatting a felony  

  • Swatting are hoax calls where the caller claims there's an active shoot situation  

  • Swatting is now a fourth degree felony or a second degree felony if it results in serious physical harm  

  • Lawmakers hope this will deter people from committing crimes like these  
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Swatting has been an issue for a law enforcement officials across the state for nearly a year now, including Montgomery County in southwest Ohio. 

"We've had them at local schools," said Rob Streck, Montgomery County Sheriff. "We've had them at some of our Montgomery County government buildings. Every time it happens, there are resources coming from everywhere, depending on what the call says."

Streck said a lot goes into responding to situations like those. 

"You've got to get perimeters," he said. "You got to get deputies or officers there. You got to get try to get communication with someone inside to see what's going on. So it can be a long operation to try to figure out if something's real or something's not."

He claims these incidents not only cause a lot of unnecessary panic, but are a waste of money and resources. 

"You have a lot of police officers, deputy sheriffs out there responding, usually with lights and sirens to get somewhere when they don't need to be," he said. 

That's why lawmakers have been working on a law to help put a stop to it. State Representative Kevin Miller, R-Newark, was one of the primary sponsors of HB462.

The new law, which went into effect in April, makes swatting a fourth degree felony or a second degree felony if it results in serious physical harm. People would also be responsible for paying restitution. 

"The intent of this legislation is to deter this unwanted behavior," said Miller. "So hopefully that’s just what it will do."

There isn't much evidence to back up whether this new law has been a deterrence in Ohio. But Miller said he hasn't heard of any swatting situations since the bill became a law. 

“Now whether the bill had an effect on this, I would say it’s probably too early to tell," he said. 

As for Streck and his office, he said they have been successful in the past prosecuting people committing this crime. He hopes this new law will further help put a stop to it. 

"We're getting ready to head in to back to school for elementary, high school, colleges, all of that," he said. "So this is a good time to put this bill through so that we have another tool in our toolbox to try to deal with these kinds of individuals."