On September 27 of this year, a teenager called the 112 emergency number and informed the operator that “there is a bomb in this school,” after which he hung up. It was immediately established that the call had been made from one of the educational institutions in Gryfów Śląski. Every report of this kind is treated very seriously, and the services are therefore notified of the potential threat and immediately take the necessary action. In this case, officers from the Police Station in Gryfów Śląski were already at the scene shortly after the report.
The actions taken by the police led to the identification of the person who had called the emergency number. It turned out to be a 16-year-old student at the school. The teenager admitted to triggering the false alarm, explaining that it had been a stupid joke.
He apparently was not aware that anyone responsible for triggering a false alarm must expect legal and financial consequences. Under Article 224a of the Criminal Code, triggering a false bomb alert is punishable by up to 8 years in prison. Minors, on the other hand, are held responsible for punishable acts and signs of demoralization under the Act on Proceedings in Juvenile Cases. The costs associated with the services’ response in this situation will be borne by the 16-year-old’s parents.
We appeal for the responsible and prudent use of emergency numbers. False reports cause the unnecessary deployment of numerous services responsible for public safety. Every dispatch of firefighters, paramedics or police officers to incidents that have not actually occurred creates a danger for those who may genuinely need this assistance at that moment.