Should Police investigate social media abuse?

UKJ · Post by **UKJ** » Sun Jul 13, 2014 3:39 pm

Half of Police work in the UK involves social media incidents.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-27949674

I don't think they should be wasting time investigating verbal abuse like racist/ homophobic etc name calling. Wrong as it is, there is too much crime for the police to be wasting time on name calling. Trolls are saying vile stuff on murdered teenagers tribute pages etc, but is that a police matter?

OrangeDragon · Post by **OrangeDragon** » Sun Jul 13, 2014 3:46 pm

Is it a police matter if a person gets my phone number and starts calling and harassing me? Social media is only a communications platform... like a phone or an email or a letter in the post.

vladimir · Post by **vladimir** » Sun Jul 13, 2014 3:59 pm

How about when Osama or his successor posts a threat on facebook? Might change your tune then.

djones · Post by **djones** » Sun Jul 13, 2014 4:37 pm

Title of that been article says "half of calls"

ali baba · Post by **ali baba** » Sun Jul 13, 2014 7:44 pm

Just threats of violence from locals.

Death threats were investigated before the internet and so it should be during the internet. I'm not sure about distinguishing 'locals' though. If you live in a major city there are daily flights to dozens of countries around the world.

Sailorman · Post by **Sailorman** » Sun Jul 13, 2014 9:30 pm

Police have their noses in enough of our life. Recently I got an online threat from a business owner (westerner if you call France western) in Snooky over a product. I told him lets do it, time, place, weapons, etc. I didn't get a reply, but reported him to his parent company and from what I gather they took care of it.

Hotdigr · Post by **Hotdigr** » Mon Jul 14, 2014 1:17 am

Define "Abuse" a little more specifically please. A rockspider portraying himself as a teenager and conning teenage chicks into sending him sexually explicit messages/pictures and then maybe meeting them and perhaps raping them? Of course they fuking should. Someone calling me a wanker on a forum? Of course they should. Nah, just joking about that last one, the truth is the truth I s'pose!
Seriously though mate, you need to be a little more specific here.

OrangeDragon · Post by **OrangeDragon** » Mon Jul 14, 2014 2:00 am

reality is, a threat of violence shouldn't be taken lightly for any reason. people far away have friends close/etc that can fuck you/your life up.

djones · Post by **djones** » Mon Jul 14, 2014 2:31 am

This type of story just gets put out when nothing much is going on news wise. Normally when parliament is in recess, so bit early this year.
Usual format is 45% of 999 calls frivolous waste of emergency services time. My pizza hasn't arrived so he must have had an accident. Can the ambulance drop my pizza off on way to hospital

Seen the same story 20 times.

This year some hack with a creative flourish changed it to social media and half of.
This is a propa take about online abuse from the lovely Grauniad

"Met police helicopter service accused of encouraging Twitter abuse of critics"

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014 ... se-critics

YouTube · Post by **General Mackevili** » Mon Jul 14, 2014 3:22 am

OrangeDragon wrote:reality is, a threat of violence shouldn't be taken lightly for any reason.

Agreed. It shouldn't matter what platform the threat is made on. A threat's a threat.