Exclusive: Temple trains officers for swatting hoaxes after Villanova incident

One month after swatting hoax terrorized Villanova University, Temple University gave NBC10 an inside look into how they’ve begun preparing for if a similar incident comes their way.

Along with having a dispatch center that monitors 1,400 surveillance cameras on campus, the university has brought on in-house specialized training on how to handle swatting incidents.

“We want people to know we’re completely prepared if one of these situations were to come in,” said Temple University’s Police Chief of Public Safety Jennifer Griffin.

If a suspicious call comes in, officers are now trained to look for signs that it is a hoax, Griffin said.

“Anything that would be out of the norm, maybe a persons voice, or not answering questions that somebody whose familiar with our campus would be able to make,” Griffin said.

However, if officers suspect a hoax, they will still clear the area and put the school on lockdown, but they are hoping to avoid the situation that happened at Villanova, where students and their families feared that there was a mass shooter on campus for hours.

“We want everyone to know what to do to feel empowered, not be scared,” said Joshua Nussbaum, the Deputy Director of Emergency Management.

Audrey, a senior at Temple, appreciated the extra steps the university was taking as well.

“I think its important we all need to stay safe, you just need to be safe,” Audrey said.

Other colleges in the region, such as Drexel and Villanova, also say they are taking extra steps to prepare for more swatting incidents in the future, including training with the FBI.