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Online antisocial behaviour complaints 'becoming a real problem for police' Online antisocial behaviour complaints 'becoming a real problem for police'
(34 minutes later)
Complaints from the public about abuse, threats or antisocial behaviour on Facebook, Twitter or other social media are becoming a significant part of the daily reports received by frontline police officers, a senior officer has said. Complaints from the public about abuse, threats or antisocial behaviour on Facebook, Twitter or other social media are becoming a significant part of the daily reports received by frontline police, a senior officer has said.
Chief Constable Alex Marshall, the head of the College of Policing, has said that it is becoming a "real problem", with as many as half the daily complaints by the public to the police about low-level antisocial behaviour now relating to activity that happens online. He added that soon every police investigation will include an online element. Ch Con Alex Marshall, the head of the College of Policing, has said that it is becoming a real problem, with as many as half the daily complaints by the public about low-level antisocial behaviour now relating to activity that happens online. He added that soon every police investigation will include an online element.
Marshall has warned that many police officers are still trying to understand the point at which insults on social media become a crime. Marshall has warned that many police officers are still trying to understand the point at which insults on social media become a crime. About 6,000 officers are currently undergoing training by the college in how to deal with online offences.
About 6,000 police officers are currently undergoing training by the College of Policing in how to deal with online offences. Marshall told the BBC's Law in Action programme: "As people have moved their shopping online, they've also moved their insults, their abuse and their threats online, so I see that it won't be long before pretty much every investigation that the police conduct will have an online element to it.
Marshall told the BBC's Law in Action programme: "As people have moved their shopping online, they've also moved their insults, their abuse and their threats online, so I see that it won't be long before pretty much every investigation that the police conduct will have an online element to it," he said.
"It's a real problem for people working on the frontline of policing, and they deal with this every day. So in a typical day where perhaps they deal with a dozen calls, they might expect that at least half of them, whether around antisocial behaviour or abuse or threats of assault, may well be related to social media – Facebook, Twitter, or other forms.""It's a real problem for people working on the frontline of policing, and they deal with this every day. So in a typical day where perhaps they deal with a dozen calls, they might expect that at least half of them, whether around antisocial behaviour or abuse or threats of assault, may well be related to social media – Facebook, Twitter, or other forms."
He indicated that many of the complaints the police received related to very low-level behaviour, which might include somebody being "unfriended" on Facebook, and he acknowledged that frontline officers could not deal with "every bit of nonsense and disagreement" that happens on social media. He indicated that many of the complaints police received related to very low-level behaviour, which might include somebody being "unfriended" on Facebook, and he acknowledged that frontline officers could not deal with "every bit of nonsense and disagreement" that happens on social media.
"People throughout history have shouted abuse at each other and had disagreements and arguments and possibly said things that they regret later, and the police have never investigated every disagreement between everyone," Marshall told the BBC. "People throughout history have shouted abuse at each other and had disagreements and arguments and possibly said things that they regret later, and the police have never investigated every disagreement between everyone.
"So we have to be careful here that there's a line that needs to be drawn, and if something is serious and it's a crime and someone is genuinely threatened or in the case of domestic abuse – maybe they're being coerced and treated deliberately in this way as a sort of punishment by a partner – that's a serious issue that we need to take on.""So we have to be careful here that there's a line that needs to be drawn, and if something is serious and it's a crime and someone is genuinely threatened or in the case of domestic abuse – maybe they're being coerced and treated deliberately in this way as a sort of punishment by a partner – that's a serious issue that we need to take on."
The scale of online crime and antisocial behaviour remains at the level of anecdotal evidence but the College of Policing is carrying out research to try to quantify how much crime originates online. A voluntary "flag" has been introduced to enable forces to highlight online crime when they record incidents on their databases. The scale of online crime and antisocial behaviour remains at the level of anecdotal evidence but the college is carrying out research to try to quantify how much crime originates online. A voluntary "flag" has been introduced to enable forces to highlight online crime when they record incidents on their databases.
The director of public prosecutions recently issued guidance which said that those who posted offensive messages online had to cross a "high threshold" before they could face the threat of prosecution. A prosecution could be easily avoided by a rapid apology.The director of public prosecutions recently issued guidance which said that those who posted offensive messages online had to cross a "high threshold" before they could face the threat of prosecution. A prosecution could be easily avoided by a rapid apology.