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Twitter trolling 'on the rise', the Met says | Twitter trolling 'on the rise', the Met says |
(about 4 hours later) | |
About 2,000 crimes related to online abuse are being reported to the police in London each year, according to new figures. | |
The Met Police said the number of incidents related to online harassment and bullying had increased by 3.1% compared to the previous year. | |
Deputy Commissioner Craig Mackey told members of the London Assembly the problem could get worse. | |
Mr Mackey said: "I think it will rise as people become more aware of this." | Mr Mackey said: "I think it will rise as people become more aware of this." |
'Twitter trolling' | 'Twitter trolling' |
The admission follows a number of high-profile cases of "Twitter trolling", where users of the social networking site were bombarded with threats and abuse. | |
The police said investigators faced difficulties as many social media companies are based in the US, where laws are different. | |
Mr Mackey also revealed that trolls often use fake identities or software to cover their IP addresses, which can lead to difficulties in obtaining evidence for court cases. | Mr Mackey also revealed that trolls often use fake identities or software to cover their IP addresses, which can lead to difficulties in obtaining evidence for court cases. |
Earlier this year Caroline Criado-Perez faced abuse and threats of rape after successfully campaigning for a woman to be featured on UK banknotes. | |
She complained it was "appalling" she had to trawl through the abuse to find evidence for the police. | |
"I got an email saying 'why don't you go through what you've had' from three users with certain handles," said Ms Criado-Perez. | |
"It just shows such insensitivity to someone who's been through so much." | |
On Thursday, Mr Mackey said the force had investigators who could have looked through the material. | |
He said: "I don't know why she went back through each and every one." | |
Police are also investigating a series of sexually-explicit and violent tweets sent to Labour MP Stella Creasy. | |
Television historian Professor Mary Beard and newspaper columnist Hadley Freeman have also faced abuse online. | |
Twitter has recently introduced a "report Tweet" button to try and combat trolling. |