Bomb hoaxes are ‘hugely stressful’
People making bomb threats don’t realise the stress and implications an incident can cause, a clinical psychologist says.
Police officers had to respond to a potential explosive device found in Palmerston North in September after an ‘‘item of concern’’ was found in a tree on the side of a road.
The road was closed and a military explosive ordnance disposal team was called to deal with the item, which was later found to be innocuous.
The police file, released under the Official Information Act, shows the item was a mustard bottle with a phone, watch, pipe and tube taped to it, made to resemble an explosive device.
There was a brown wire between the items and two firework tubes taped together.
Dr Ian de Terte is senior lecturer in clinical psychology at Massey University and a former police officer.
He said there was no exact reason known why people made false bomb threats or created fake bombs. ‘‘People make these hoax calls for a number of reasons. Some people might think it’s funny. Some people don’t realise how much work it is for the people involved.
‘‘I am talking about the police, the bomb experts from the military. If it is in a built-up area you have to close a business. They really don’t know.
‘‘It is a bit like people that do arsons. They like to watch the ramifications of it.
‘‘They can watch bomb hoaxes. They don’t think they are doing any harm because nobody is getting hurt.
‘‘Nobody is getting psychologically hurt, but there’s actually quite a lot of work on these incidents.’’
He said the culprits could get a thrill from watching what happened and see what resources were involved in the response. There could also be copycat offenders.
‘‘Purely they want other people, not harmed, but to put them through their paces.’’
He said the threats had to be taken seriously though, because there was the chance one could turn out to be real.
The events were ‘‘hugely stressful’’ for anyone involved.
The same thing applied to incidents like a string of bomb threats made at schools across New Zealand in recent months.
It was a hard area to research because people making bomb hoaxes were not forthcoming about being studied for their motives, de Terte said.
Police documents about the item in Palmerston North said a suspicious item was found and the explosive ordnance disposal was called as a precaution. The nearby petrol station was closed.
The item had likely been there for a while because there were cobwebs connecting the item to the tree. There was no evidence to suggest there was a risk to public safety.
The explosive team used a water cannon attached to a robot to dispose of the item and the noise of the water cannon made a long bang.
‘‘Given anything evidential was destroyed with the water cannon there are no further lines of inquiry.’’