People in the West Midlands turned to police for help after being harassed on Facebook and Twitter, with the victims ranging from age five to 67. The statistics published on police force website indicates a big increase in the number of officers being asked for help to cope with the abuse on social media. The force website indicates that the number of complainants on Facebook have doubled in number last year compared to the year 2010. The number of complainants last year were 415 as compared to 231 in 2010. Until 2010, then there were no complaints regarding Twitter. However, Twitter reported 20 complaints last year. The statistics show that the perpetrator included 24 girls aged between 10 and 14 as compared to 16 boys in the same age bracket. Majority of Facebook offenses since 2010 comprise of cases related to harassment (1,333), of which 30 are linked to stalking offences and 73 involving racial or religious related harassment incidents. Punishments for these offenses above can range from warnings and fines, to prison sentences. Ian Edwards, chairman of West Midlands Police Federation, which represents rank and file officers in the region, said the increase in online crime was putting added pressure on officers. “Fraud, cyber crime and crime involving social media takes a lot more investigation,” he said. “There’s a lot more time at a desk. It’s not just a case of ‘that person did it, arrest them’. “This falls on staff who already have big case loads so you have to prioritise. “When you do that there is always going to be a victim of crime who doesn’t feel that their crime is being properly investigated. “We’re regularly told that crime is going down. From my point of view crime is changing.” West Midlands Police issue time to time advice by helping people by not falling prey to crimes on social media. They suggest changing of passwords and user names at regular intervals, using appropriate privacy settings and only accepting friend requests from known people. Cyber bullies regularly set up fake accounts and profiles; so if one falls prey to them online, they are recommended to be instantly blocked by the police. For full guidance for parents and children, visit the force dedicated cyber crime advice page at the Midlands advice centre.
