So... why don't we fix the problem at its source by trying to better assess the reliability of a lone phone call before barging in guns blazing as though it was a war zone?

Before: "We got a single phone call guys, this is bulletproof. No need to actually assess the situation or anything, no one would ever lie to us - we're the authorities after all."

Now: "Not in the database - looks like we're good to shoot on sight!"

Obviously I exaggerate, and hopefully things don't usually proceed the way they did in Kansas (https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/24/us/gamers-swatting-charge...). But I really have to wonder about the reasoning here. In all seriousness, which of the below is a more frequent occurrence?

* A hostage (or similar) situation deserving of this sort of response, but with no externally visible indications - just a single phone call.

* "Prank" calls of this sort.

I don't actually know the answer, but I strongly suspect the latter by a very large margin.

Can I use it for - My Family is Black in a mostly White neighborhood, if a neighbor calls the police about “suspicious” people entering my house, it’s probably just my family.

How about police just not use SWAT teams so much? It's ridiculous that you can get someone "swatted" with mere heresay; but SWAT teams have swelled in number and are now being used for far more than what they were originally intended. SWAT teams raiding the wrong homes, shooting family dogs, killing innocent people, etc...are all a symptom of a larger problem, as is this. You shouldn't have to sign up for anything to not get attacked by a SWAT team, how absolutely absurd. A list does not solve the deeper issue.

How is this different from paying the mafia protection money? This is what mafias do they extort businesses for money to not be bothered by them and other gang members.

The "Please don't shoot" list

Some more discussion, including sign-up instructions at the end: https://www.geekwire.com/2018/seattle-police-try-new-tactic-...

Sooooo can you set up a meth lab, then add yourself to the list?

What a racket. There is a problem with people spoofing voip phone calls calling in hoaxes and the best they can come up with to fix it is "oh pay for this protection service and we will send a normal police response instead of a murderous one."

WHAT?? Why not "oh this phone call has weird information and is untrackable. That's weird and abnormal, almost like this is a hoax. Let's go check assuming it is a hoax."

One idea might be to have some way to register a 'code word' with the police/911 dispatch for a given address/phone in advance. If the code word is spoken, that gives extra signal that it's a genuine threat.

In practice, not sure if the IT of most departments is sophisticated enough, but in theory that might help.

Streamers like Ice Poseidon and Sam Pepper could benefit from such a service, though unfortunately they aren't based in Seattle.

Feels like a trap.

Holy shit. We're fucking doomed.

The SWAT team just can't promise that it won't treat every phone call like a life and death situation.

Gee. Maybe the SWAT team should only barge in after regular cops are confirmed to have made contact with a genuine emergency, that has been validated and confirmed as unresolvable by other means?

What if the SWAT team just didn't react to phone calls?

What if other criteria were required to be met, before dumping a pile of battering rams and automatic weapons and snipers and helicopters onto a problem?

Maybe just expose regular police to emergency calls first? Maybe it's not Die Hard? Maybe Hans Gruber isn't taking hostages? Imagine that.

I'm moving back to Oakland