Are Social Media Posts Investigated More Than Physical Crimes?
This post, authored by Richard Eldred, was republished with permission from The Daily Sceptic
In an analysis of Britain’s criminal justice priorities in the Sunday Times, Tom Calver lays bare the absurdity of a system where tweeting the wrong thing is more likely to get you arrested than burglary — even though hardly anyone ends up charged, and the public couldn’t care less.
Here’s an excerpt:
You do not have to be J.D. Vance to admit that Britain’s approach to free speech can seem a bit heavy-handed. …
As the Times reported last month, the number of people arrested by police for posting online messages jumped from 5,502 in 2017 to 12,183 in 2023 — the equivalent of about 33 a day. By way of comparison, 5,229 people were arrested for fraud offences last year. But strangely, according to Ministry of Justice figures, the number of people who actually end up facing justice for these offences is considerably smaller and has fallen over the past decade.
In 2015 the number of people sentenced for posting malicious communications online was 1,983. But by 2024 the figure had fallen to 1,160. Just 137 received immediate custodial sentences, most of which were shorter than two months. In other words, the number of people eventually punished in court for digital free speech infractions has actually fallen by more than 40% in a decade.
What is going on? …
In the vast majority of thefts, robberies and burglaries dealt with by the police in 2024, the case was closed without a suspect even being identified — a familiar story to anyone who has had their phone stolen by a balaclava-clad thief on a moped. But sending mean posts online, particularly from a named account, is like handing police a case on a silver platter. Unsurprisingly, about two thirds of these crimes have a named suspect.
Offences investigated by police in 2024
Yet the clear-up rate for these online cases is low. The charging rate for all crimes was about 8.8% in 2024; even for home burglaries it is 6.7%. But just 2.5% of malicious communications offences result in someone being charged, even though the police usually know exactly whodunnit.
Why so low? Some of these crimes are considered minor enough to be resolved through cautions and community resolutions; the data also says there may be “evidential” reasons for not taking the case further. But more than a third of malicious communications offences are closed because the victim does not support any further action. In other words, officers are spending time investigating these crimes when in many cases the victim does not want to press charges.
Worth reading in full.
Stop Press: Toby Young of the Free Speech Union writes: This is incomplete because Tom Calver is defining “the number of people arrested by police for posting online messages” as those arrested on suspicion of committing an offence under s127 of the Communications Act and s1 of the Malicious Communications Act.
I’m sure he’s right that the data show fewer people are prosecuted for those offences than was the case ten years ago, but a more complete analysis would expand the definition to include those arrested on suspicion of committing an offence under the Public Order Act – e.g. stirring up hatred based on race, religion or sexual orientation – because of something they’ve posted online.
Many of the people we defend at the Free Speech Union are arrested on suspicion of committing those offences for something they’ve posted online.
I would be interested to see that more complete analysis. Our data at the FSU show that, as far as people asking us for help is concerned, there’s been an uptick in cases of individuals arrested on suspicion of stirring up racial hatred for something they’ve posted online since the Southport attacks last year, compared with the period 2020–24.
Your support is crucial in helping us defeat mass censorship. Please consider donating via Locals or check out our unique merch. Follow us on X @ModernityNews.
Source link