College students pull “prank” kidnapping of female student

First an explanation of my source– the excerpt below was pulled from Campus Watch , an email newsletter sent out every weekday by the campus police department at the university at which I work and formerly attended, The University of Texas at Austin.  Campus Watch details the incidents reported to the police department on campus during the previous day– ipods getting stolen, vandalism, things like that.  It is compiled by an officer who works in the department (which you’ll probably be able to tell).  This is pulled from the newsletter sent today, July 14, 2009:

Suspicious Activity:  An unidentified bystander placed an emergency telephone call to the police department to report seeing a female subject in a pick-up truck with her hands bound by red rope and duct tape over her mouth.  The reporting person advised the truck was also occupied by two male subjects and was last seen driving away from campus.  A massive search of the area resulted in one of UT’s finest locating the vehicle.  The two male occupants of the vehicle and the female occupant of the vehicle were all identified as UT students.  The driver of the vehicle stated the three were only pulling a “prank” and wanted to get some laughs, so he and the other male student tied the female student up and taped her mouth to make it appear as if she had been abducted.  The driver stated they drove around campus and out to Barton Springs.  Statements of the other male occupant and the female occupant confirmed the driver’s statements.  Occurred on 07/13/09 at 3:05 p.m.

Reality Check:
Kidnapping is a serious offense that is considered by most law enforcement officers as a high risk stop.  As such, these types of calls are treated as potentially dangerous.   Fresh kidnapping calls require a great deal of police resources.  In this case, numerous officers were tied up looking for the suspect vehicle and handling the subsequent investigation.  During the time frame of the call, two lower priority calls for service were held until the vehicle was located.  Furthermore, several dedicated officers from the day shift stayed on-duty after their shift ended to help look for the suspect vehicle.  I must wonder if the three students in this case truly thought out the ramifications of their behavior.  I can say with confidence that their lack of maturity was demonstrated in their actions.  The only positive things that came from this call can be attributed to the pedestrian who observed and reported the activity to the police department and the demonstration of dedication, professionalism and commitment on the part of the UT Police Officers."

This whole thing makes my head spin.  The emphasis for the officer writing this is wasted resources (even diverting resources from other potentially serious incidents) and which I agree is truly a serious problem.  I am relieved that there wasn’t a "tragedy of the commons" effect and someone called in what they had seen.  But I keep going back to these three college students, 2 males and a female, who thought it would be "funny" to fake the female student’s kidnapping.   The entry doesn’t mention what actions were taken against them, if any.   I don’t have any more information than what than what the Campus Watch provides but the idea that these students could think that acting out this traumatic event with its misogynistic and violent overtones is somehow funny or laughable is just beyond me.  I don’t know if it demonstrates more complete lack of thought or sensitivity on their part or what, but I’m just nauseated. 

Thoughts?