Mentions of social media in crime quadruple in four years
Social media is increasingly being used as a means to carry out crime, new figures released today reveal.
Mentions of social media sites in crime reports have more than quadrupled in West Mercia Police force's area in the last four years.
Violence, fraud and sexual offences have all been carried out in which social media has been involved.
In the first nine months of last year, there were 2,274 crimes reported that mentioned social media such as key words as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or Snapchat.
That figure is part of a rising trend, according to figures released through a request under the Freedom of Information Act.
There were 2,427 crimes involving social media in the whole of 2016, 1,520 mentions in 2015, 672 mentions in 2014 and 462 mentions in 2013.
The most frequent crimes that mentioned social media were violence without injury, with 1,449 reports, "other crimes against society" with 277 reports and 263 reports of other sexual offences.
There were also 30 rape reports that mentioned social media, 79 theft offences and 30 cases of criminal damage and arson.
The figures were released days after video of a Telford boy being beaten up were posted on Snapchat.
Sean Wilbraham, 12, was riding his bike near his Donnington home when he was attacked by other boys who then uploaded the footage. Police are investigating the attack.
Today's figures reveal mentions of Snapchat in crime reports rose the most between 2013 and January to September 30 last year, with 12,966 per cent from three mentions to 392.
Facebook was the social media platform with the most mentions, with 1,741.This compares to 71 mentions of Twitter, 234 mentions of Instagram and 392 mentions of Snapchat.
Between 2013 and the first nine months of last year, mentions of Facebook in crime reports rose by 292 per cent from 444 to 1,741.
Meanwhile, mentions of Twitter rose 59 per cent in the same time frame, and Instagram in crime reports rose with 11,600 per cent from two mentions to 234.
Detective Inspector Gavin Kinrade stressed the importance of using social media "safely and responsibly".
He said: "Across the UK over the past few years, there has been a rise in the number of people who regularly use social media and the internet.
"There's also an increasing variety of channels to use. That means police forces have seen a rise in the number of reports of offences involving an online element. Those offences can range from harassment to trading in stolen goods.
"We take seriously all reports of both cyber crime and cyber-enabled crime – the latter are traditional crimes that can be increased in their scale or reach by devices that can go online. And we also stress the importance of using social media safely and responsibly.
"I'd recommend a visit to getsafeonline.org for tips and information about how to avoid falling victim to online crime."
