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| Evans |
Reports of crimes involving Facebook
and Twitter - such as posting abusive messages, grooming and complaints of
stalking - have increased eight-fold in four years.
In 2008, a total of 556 complaints
were made to police, according to the statistics released by 29 police forces
in a Freedom of Information request.
But the phenomenon of social
networking crime has grown substantially and last year 4,908 offences were
reported in which the two sites were a factor.
The figures show 653 people were
charged for social networking crime in 2011 alone.
Police forces said there has been a
wide variety of offences via the social media platforms, with harassment and
menacing messages among the most common.
Greater Manchester Police charged
the highest number of people, at 115.
Lancashire Police received reports
of six threats of murder and there were numerous sexual offences as well as
allegations of racially aggravated conduct and reports of fraud.
Civil liberties campaigners said the
statistics demonstrate how some police forces had 'lost all proportion' in
dealing with social media complaints.
They added that the figures reveal
how poorly some police forces have dealt with complaints about comments made
online.
Nick Pickles, director of civil
liberties campaign group Big Brother Watch, said: 'These figures show just how
badly some police forces had lost all proportion when dealing with social
media.
'So many arrests was clearly
undermining freedom of speech and while the new guidance should reduce the
problem, hundreds of people now have criminal records for the rest of their
lives when it is far from clear they should do.
'The law around speech crimes is
still in need of a total overhaul as the legislation that led to some of the
more absurd prosecutions remains in place.'
Chief Constable Andy Trotter, the
Association of Chief Police Officers’ lead on communications, said forces must
prioritise crimes which cause genuine harm, rather than attempting to curb
freedom of expression.
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| Trotter |
Paul Chambers's conviction for
joking on Twitter about blowing up Robin Hood Airport in South Yorkshire was
one of the most high profile social networking crime cases in recent years.
Mr Chambers tweeted ‘Robin Hood
Airport is closed. You’ve got a week and a bit to get your s*** together
otherwise I am blowing the airport sky high!!’ when it was closed because of
snow.
He was convicted in May 2010 of
sending a menacing communication under the Communications Act, when an airport
security official saw the tweet five days later.
Mr Chambers was supported by the
likes of Al Murray and Stephen Fry during his appeal and his conviction was
eventually over turned at the High Court in February.
Since then the Crown Prosecution
Service (CPS) set a 'high threshold' for police intervention in social
networking crime intervention, which is expected to result in fewer criminal
charges being brought.
Director of public prosecutions Keir
Starmer QC announced the new guidelines on how people who post offensive
messages on Facebook and Twitter should be dealt with.
Mr Starmer admitted the CPS made the
wrong 'judgement call' in the Chambers case.
He said: 'In most cases, once you
have put the (new) safeguards in place then a prosecution is unlikely to be the
appropriate response.
'To that extent, therefore, it is to
make it less likely that these cases will be prosecuted.'
Other high-profile cases involving
social media include nine people who were each ordered to pay compensation to a
woman raped by Ched Evans who they named on Twitter or Facebook.
Mr Trotter said social media poses
new challenges for police.
He said: 'It is a new world for all
and we could end up in a situation where each constabulary needs a dedicated
Twitter squad. In my opinion, that would not be a good use of resources in
difficult financial times.
'We need to accept that people have
the right to communicate, even to communicate in an obnoxious or disagreeable
way, and there is no desire on the part of the police to get involved in that
judgment.
'But equally, there are many
offences involving social media such as harassment or genuine threats of
violence which cause real harm. It is that higher end of offending which forces
need to concentrate on.'
Police forces that responded to a
Freedom of Information request said 653 people faced criminal charges this year
over allegations involving the two sites that included posting abusive messages
ad crimes that were provoked by postings such as violent attacks.
Four years ago just 46 people were
charged.
Tayside Police received 66 reports
involving the sites this year, 44 of these involved sending obscene or menacing
messages and in Merseyside 21 of the 76 crimes reported this year involved
harassment.
Other notable cases that have caused
fierce debate about freedom of speech include that of Reece Messer, 17, who was
given an official warning for 'offensive' tweets he posted about diver Tom
Daley.
Last month, Linford House, 19, was
arrested after complaints were made about a tweet in which he was seen burning
a Poppy.
He was arrested by Kent Police but
did not face prosecution for the picture, which he published in the early hours
of Remembrance Sunday.
Mr Trotter said offences involving
social media can be roughly divided between crimes which would have been
committed, albeit in a different way, before the emergence of social media and
those which exist because of the online platform.
'There is an issue of public
expectation,' he said.
'We have to respect free speech and
cannot have police forces responding simply because of public outcry.
'In many ways, online communities
can be self-regulating and good at weeding out unacceptable behaviour. We need
to find a way of distinguishing between that type of behaviour and that which
requires police intervention.'
ON THE RISE: SOCIAL NETWORKING CRIMES IN NUMBERS
Total number of complaints and charges from 29 forces
2008 - 556 complaints and 46 charges2011 - 4,908 complaints and 653 charges
Greater Manchester Police charged 115 people this year - the most in the country
Gloucestershire Police only charged five people from 27 complaints
Northern Constabulary received 700 complaints - more than any other force that replied
Lincolnshire Police charged 54 people this year from 579 complaints. In 2008 just one person was charged from 19 complaints
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