Complaints to police over social network sites soar
POLICE are being deluged with complaints arising from social media websites such as Facebook and Twitter, it has emerged.
Several high-profile cases involving social networking sites have hit the headlines around the region in the last year, including one in Plymouth where a teenager was arrested for allegedly posting threats against a witness on Facebook.
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But Devon and Cornwall Police has now revealed it is being inundated with more minor complaints, mainly from youngsters, emanating from rows over the Internet.
Chief Constable Stephen Otter said "the biggest increase in demand for neighbourhood officers" was "activity on social media, which results in fights and scuffles outside school gates and so on".
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Figures released earlier this year showed crimes linked to Facebook had nearly doubled, from 115 incidents in 2009 to 225 in 2010.
No figures on the number of complaints linking the site, or others such as Twitter, MySpace and Bebo, are available.
However, Detective Inspector Simon Snell, who has led many of the force's major online investigations, said it was a "huge problem".
"More and more complaints are being made to the police about issues on social media sites, predominantly Facebook," he said. "Mostly they come from youngsters.
"So many children have a social media profile out there, they are living their lives on the Internet now and that is where some of the problems arise."
DI Snell said they were arguments which would previously been "had in the playground or the pub" but which were now being aired, and recorded, on the Internet – often in full view of others.
"Clearly, if there is a crime, then we need to know about it and will investigate," he said.
"In circumstances where it is assessed that no offence has been committed, then we encourage people to use the 'report abuse' button on the website."
He added: "You can imagine the amount of resources that could be spent on investigating every incident on Facebook."
Figures based on crime reports which referenced Facebook revealed that harassment (75) was the most common offence in 2010, followed by assault (52), sexual offences (22) and common assault (21).
The records also linked Facebook to 10 instances of criminal damage, two serious assaults, 10 counts of fraud and forgery, and a burglary.
Comments
by Boris20111
Monday, September 26 2011, 3:57PM
“I have often been castigated for using a harsh font on here, or even using an aggressive colour. I was once accused of bullying by CAPSLOCK!
Some people should not be allowed onto the internet unsupervised. If a set of pixels can upset somebody, or they allow themselves to be upset by so then - they should not be allowed net access.
Anyone who feels threatened / outraged by something they have read on the net is a mong, and anyone who has put anything on the net that allows them to be threatened is a mong.”
by josdave
Monday, September 26 2011, 1:45PM
“I do not use Facebook or any of those sites foe many reasons one being privacy and the other being that if I want to communicate with someone I phone, talk, write or send emails. As for the bullying I think the phrase "sticks and stones......." comes to mind.”
by Boris20111
Monday, September 26 2011, 9:19AM
“The logical progression - in ten year's time we'll be reading about people being investigated for bullying due to continually beating someone on an online game.
Herald court report from 2021:
Kylie-Jedward Dewdney: Aggressive use of force on Bejewelled & Online Mario karts.
Sentenced to 18 month internet supervision order and a Facebook curfew.”
by hugeboy
Monday, September 26 2011, 7:57AM
“my mate is a copper, he says he spends hours a week dealing with so called facebook domestics where one ex has left an abusive message on the others page. why dont the police grow some and tell them to grow up and if they are that upset block them on facebook? no police on the streets anymore as they are all being treated to viewing peoples facebook accounts. surely persons doing this could be barred from facebook or other social media sites”
by pogle63
Monday, September 26 2011, 7:47AM
“Simple if you don`t plaster your business minute by minute over such sites you won`t have a problem. Too many people put tooo much information on these sites which is bound to lead to the situations mentioned here. Police ought to tell people to get off them or put less on them and limit who can see what.”
by ChrisOPrayse
Monday, September 26 2011, 7:26AM
“People seem to have no idea of the real-world consequences of their online actions.”