Harassment and Intimidation
Harassment is a criminal offence and should be reported to the Police immediately by calling 999 if you or someone you know is in immediate danger.
If a crime has been committed and you are not currently in danger, please contact the Police on 101 or report it online.
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Once it has been reported to the Police, please contact us with details of the incident and the incident number. We will then let you know if we can take any action.
We understand that it may be difficult to report this, but our Officers are here to help provide you with advice and direct you to the correct support services.
The following types of behaviour are recognised as harassment:
- threats either by face, over the phone, on social media
- following someone or waiting outside their house or place of work
- making silent phone calls
- verbal abuse or name calling
- physical violence
- damaging property
- doing anything that knowingly causes distress to someone else
If the behaviour is ongoing, please complete our diary sheets with dates and times of the incidents and send them in to us.
Social Media
People are allowed to voice their opinions on social media, as they would do in person. If you disagree with someone’s views, it does not mean that this is ASB, or a crime, or that the police can take action. There is however, a difference between someone being rude or argumentative, or having a different point of view to you receiving threats or targeted abuse.
If a person sends threatening/abusive/grossly offensive messages to another person via Facebook, Twitter, or any other social networking site, they could be committing an offence. The most relevant offences are ‘harassment’ and ‘malicious communications’.
- If you have received any threatening/abusive/offensive messages via a social networking site, and believe that an offence may have been committed, you can report this to the police. Once you have contacted the police please contact us.
- Report to the police on 101. To help the police in investigating your case you take some simple steps to record what you have been sent.
- Do not respond to the message, or get someone to speak to them on your behalf, it may only encourage the sender or make the situation worse. Take a screen shot of the message, if it is later deleted then you will still have a record of what was said.