The number of online trolls charged by the police rose by more than 400 per cent in the last year.
Social media crimes in Merseyside have skyrocketed in the last six years and there has been a four-fold increase in harassment on Facebook and Twitter in just 12 months, the ECHO can reveal.
“Can’t wait till he’s a toddler, the tracks are already calling his name.”
The news comes as a woman who trolled murdered toddler James Bulger’s mum with vile comments awaits her fate in the courts.
Chloe Cowan, 20, of Chichester Road, Ramsgate, in Kent, made a number of posts mocking Denise Fergus on twitter last year.
One, referring to a baby relative of Denise, said: “Can’t wait till he’s a toddler, the tracks are already calling his name.” James was murdered on a railway line in 1993.
Cowan, who has already pleaded guilty to harassment, is on bail awaiting a further hearing at Canterbury Crown Court.
Now Merseyside Police’s Cyber Interventions Unit has warned the number of internet trolls is just “the tip of the iceberg” as people can be reluctant to come forward when they have been harassed.
Steve Rotheram, the MP for Walton and the first MP to start a debate on trolling, said more must be done to fight the growing level of online “nastiness”.
Denise Fergus
Figures jump from 85 to 366
In 2014, there were 97 harassment crimes related to online chatrooms and social media. From January to the end of October last year, that number had risen to 415.
The figures, obtained by the ECHO under Freedom of Information laws, also reveal that the number of harassment crimes on Facebook jumped from 85 in 2014 to 366 in 2015.
The number of harassment crimes directly related to Twitter was recorded at 17 last year, up from four in 2013 and 2014, and the police have urged people to tell them when they are suffering from abuse online.
That figure could well be higher, because offences are not always classified by the website on which they occurred.
Detective Superintendent Dave McCaughrean from the Cyber Interventions Unit said: “The number of people reporting they are being harassed online could just be the tip of the iceberg.
“People may not realise that an offence has been committed or feel apprehensive about reporting it to the police.
DCI Dave McCaughrean, Merseyside police
“But people should have confidence that they can report it and Merseyside Police will investigate.”
Mr Rotheram said he believes “the nastiness has increased” in recent years.
He said: “There is too much emphasis on celebrity trolling – that becomes the story when actually there are a lot of young people who get trolled who are suffering really serious consequences of it
“I had a young girl in my office just the other week who tried to commit suicide because of being trolled and I have had several instances of that in my own surgeries.
“While it is quite right that we should ensure that if a celebrity or minor celebrity is trolled that action is taken, more needs to be done for ordinary people who are the targets of those people online who think it is just a bit of banter.”
Jailed, fined and criminal record
Detective Superintendent McCaughrean warned that anyone found guilty of an offence could face jail for up to six months and fined, leaving them with a criminal record which will stay with them for life.
He said: “Whenever a complaint or allegation is made to the police about unpleasant online behaviour, we use our specialists to secure the evidence then pass it to the investigation team to use in their case.
“At the Cyber Interventions Unit we would stress that prevention is always better than the cure.
“There are a number of preventative measures people can put into place such as increasing online security settings, adjusting privacy settings and restricting access to online profiles to ensure that they remain protected and so are their family and friends.”
Source: http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/