BROWN COUNTY, Ohio — At least two times in the last day, juveniles in Brown County used artificial intelligence to falsely report home invasions, the Brown County Sheriff's Office said.
The sheriff's office wrote on social media Thursday night that both incidents had happened "in the last 24 hours."
It's part of a "new and very concerning TikTok trend," the sheriff's office wrote.
"Not only does this create unnecessary danger for our deputies responding under emergency conditions, but it also pulls valuable resources away from real emergencies where someone may truly need help," reads the social media post.
While the sheriff's office's post does not explicitly call the incidents "swatting," the action of reporting false or misleading information to law enforcement specifically to trigger an emergency response is how the state of Ohio defines the crime.
In 2023, Ohio enacted a law making swatting a felony offense. Under the law, anyone who reports false or misleading information to a law enforcement agency, emergency service provider or public safety answering point can be found guilty of a fourth-degree felony.
According to the Brown County Sheriff's Office, the two juveniles caught using AI to create false reports are now criminally charged. The sheriff's office did not specifically say what charges they face.
"We want to be clear: This behavior is not a 'prank' — it is a crime," the sheriff's office wrote.
The agency went on to ask parents and guardians to speak with their children about the serious consequences that could come from making a false report.
"Remind them that false reports put lives at risk — including their own," reads the post.
