By JESSICA ANDERSON
A couple of weeks ago, a swatting event occurred at Mittleman Jewish Community Center and Portland Jewish Academy. It was an unsettling event for many people who witnessed the police response and for those who subsequently heard about it and had to wait and wonder about what was happening. Previously, I discussed bomb threats and emergency planning but only touched briefly on swatting. Given our recent swatting incident, I thought I would talk a bit more about it and important concepts to remember. 
“Swatting” is the act of making false emergency calls, often directly to 911, to trigger a response from law enforcement. Swatting is unfortunately extremely common. It’s so common, that if you hear about a threat event happening at a location, (just as with a bomb threat) you should always keep in mind the high likelihood that it is a hoax event. In our case, Portland Police were notified of a threat to MJCC/PJA by an outside crisis line. In the absence of knowing if it was real or not, Portland Police responded appropriately, dispatching cars directly to the building as they called to let staff know of the threat. As the event unfolded, the Portland Police investigation indicated it was a hoax threat. 
Upon receiving the call, MJCC called for a “Lockout.” A Lockout is called when it is believed that the threat is outside of the building. A Lockout means that everyone stays inside the building while an issue outside the building is resolved. If you hear that a building is in a Lockout, this is important, useful information that the possible threat did not make it inside the building. Despite the stressful information, this is a good initial outcome. Conversely, a “Lockdown” is called when the potential threat may be inside the building, or when the Police or management want everyone to stay in place, inside the room they are currently in. It’s important to be familiar with the terms “Lockout” and “Lockdown” and the ways they are used and implemented. In this instance, after the initial Lockout, the police recommended a precautionary Lockdown so they could do a sweep of internal rooms. The entire event was resolved in about an hour with no evacuation or closure of the building. 
The experience was stressful for many people; Jewish neighbors witnessed the police response and wondered what was happening, staff and others in the building had to respond to ten emergency vehicles descending on the property, and parents worried about their kids. These are perfectly normal reactions, particularly for a community that has not experienced a swatting event before. One of the hardest elements to endure in an event is not knowing exactly what is happening. In the age of cell phones and social media, word travels fast about events and this information can often be incomplete and incorrect. As every event unfolds, be it a hoax or real, a community may need to sit in an extended, uncomfortable space of not knowing. We on the outside desperately want to know what’s happening for lots of legitimate reasons, and at the same time we may have to sit and wait a long while to get updates or accurate information. Additionally, our community leaders are aware that they may have to make response decisions and lead in a vacuum of information. 
MJAA and PJA staff handled the swatting incident outstandingly. As unfortunate as these incidents are, they are opportunities to assess our procedures, hone skills, and improve processes. Ideally, drills (and not the hoax-induced kind) will be part of our yearly community security processes. If you have any questions or comments about this swatting event or our community response, please contact me at janderson@securecommunitynetwork.org or 872-273-9214.