Free Republic

A Romanian national pleaded guilty on Monday to charges related to his role in a “swatting” ring that targeted dozens of public officials, including a former US president. Going by the aliases “Plank,” “Jonah” and “Cypher,” 26-year-old Thomasz Szabo took part in a years-long conspiracy to place bogus 911 calls, claiming emergencies were taking place at the homes of top government officials, and make bomb threats against government buildings and houses of worship, according to Justice Department. Szabo and a co-conspirator, 21-year-old Serbian national Nemanja Radovanovic, allegedly targeted about 100 people, including members of Congress, governors, cabinet-level executive branch officials...

Nearly eight minutes elapsed between when a social worker called 911 to report that Josh Powell's children were in danger and when sheriff's deputies were dispatched, emergency call logs show. The home was a gas-fueled inferno - with Powell and his two young boys inside - by the time officers were on their way. Several minutes of response time was lost when the priority of the dispatch Sunday was listed as "routine" instead of "emergency." There was nothing deputies could do when they arrived 14 minutes later. >>SNIP<< After getting it straight, the dispatcher told her someone would come, though...

ONLY two urgent response police cars patrol some Sydney suburbs, leaving the community unprotected. There has also been a blowout in response times, with officers now taking 12.4 minutes - almost two minutes longer than five years ago - to respond to triple-0 calls. Non-urgent response times have increased by 21 minutes, with crime victims waiting an average of one hour and 14 minutes for police. Figures obtained under Freedom of Information showed some areas of Sydney, including Burwood, Cabramatta, North Sydney, Miranda and Waverley, had just two cars on first-response duty during the day.