Crimes linked to social media rises

There were 263 people charged in the last two years of 733 offences reported to West Yorkshire Police.

The figures, released under the Freedom of Information Act, revealed that the most common crimes reported to them was ‘violence against the person’.

Of the 160 alleged crimes linked to Facebook last year, 44 people were charged.

West Yorkshire Police said the figures may not have been a contributing factor to the offence being committed.

Det Chief Insp Gary Hooks said: “These FOI figures relate to cases where Facebook or Twitter were mentioned somewhere in the case notes.

“Consequently they refer to cases where the perpetrators of crime have misused social media as well as where these social media providers have been used as investigative tools to obtain evidence or intelligence related to the crime being investigated.

“However, West Yorkshire Police acknowledge that there has been a rise in the number of reported crimes involving social media over the last few years, simply because they have grown in popularity and more people are using them.

“We treat all complaints seriously and investigate them thoroughly whether they are committed in person or over the internet.”