Big Increase In Facebook And Twitter Crimes
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Loading... - J. OLIVEIRA
- 05 Jun 2020
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Police are investigating a rapidly rising number of crimes involving Facebook or Twitter across the UK as the use of social media grows.
Allegations of sexual offences, harassment and threats to kill were among the most serious incidents reported with thousands more offences allegedly committed in 2014 compared to the previous year.
A total of 38 out of 45 police forces saw a rise in the number of crime reports that involved Facebook in 2014, while 24 forces said they also received more which mentioned Twitter last year than in 2013.
The country's largest force, the Metropolitan Police, received 1,207 crime reports which mentioned Facebook in 2014, up from 935 in 2013 and 997 in 2012.
DCI Tonya Antonis, from the newly formed Norfolk and Suffolk cyber-crime unit, said: "I think, quite simply, it is because everyone is using technology now ... and it's part of everyone's everyday life.
"It's important to victims of crime that they have confidence in coming forward and reporting to us and important for us to have an opportunity to investigate it and bring offenders to justice."
But it is thought many crimes still go unreported and even when they are, it is not always easy to track down the perpetrators.
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Brenda Matho, aged 17, suffered anonymous racial abuse over social media and decided, with her parents' encouragement, to contact the police.
"The police came over and we had a chat about it and they said they were to going to try and do something about it but a few months later ... nothing," said the student from One Sixth Form College in Ipswich.
A fellow student at Ms Matho's college, Jack Parry, also 17, fears the increase in such crime is to be expected.
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"Things like Facebook and Twitter are a great platform for communication and instant technology like the news, but it is also an easy gateway for this to happen," he said.
There have been some high-profile cases resulting in prosecution.
Labour MP Stella Creasy and feminist activist Caroline Criado-Perez were both bombarded with abusive tweets over the campaign for Jane Austen to feature on £10 notes. Three people were prosecuted.
The new figures were revealed after freedom of information requests by the Press Association.
In many forces, incidents have risen by a third or more in the past 12 months.
Great Manchester Police for example, said 959 crime reports mentioned Facebook in 2014, up from 512 in 2013, and Essex Police saw their figures double to 432.
Supt Paul Giannasi, from the National Policing Chiefs' Council, believes there is a responsibility on police and internet providers to protect people online.
"Anyone who feels that they are being harassed on social media should report it to the police via the dedicated True Vision website so that we can investigate it fully," he said.
