Reporting something you saw on social media to the Gardai.

Boulevardier

I would like to share a very recent experience of an attempt to report a disturbing item on a social media site to the Gardai.

I was recently on Facebook where I saw a comment on a topical issue from a man who expressed regret that certain people (who were identifiable in a photo) could not be shot because no one around had a gun at the time.

I am not one of the prospective victims of this incident (which was in a different part of Ireland anyway) but I thought I ought to be a good citizen (or busybody depending on your point of view) and report it.

I went on the Gardai webpage with the intention of emailing them a link to this item. There were very few email addresses available apart from the press office, so I emailed them the link in the first instance. The press office said they are not an operational office (fair enough) and said i would have to contact my local station.

I asked them for an email address of someone who could handle the matter, but they insisted that I will have to go in person to my local station.

This really is not good enough. To progress the matter, I would have to go to a garda station and either sit down with an officer showing him the link on a Garda computer, or lug my own (old) computer and show them the link on that.

I decided to drop the matter and do no more about it.

Is this really how the Gardai want to handle citizens' allegations of unacceptable content being posted on social media in 2013?

Grolschevik

Or you could take a screenshot of the offending page and print it out...

Cody Pomeray

Perhaps the difficulty is that emails are not monitored on a 24 hour basis. There might be a danger that a person could use an email address to report crimes in real life.

Nevertheless, you could get in contact with the Gardaí via their facebook page. Having said that, I don't believe it's possible to send PMs. You'd have to make a public post. Very undesirable situation, I'd agree with you.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/An-Garda-S%C3%ADoch%C3%A1na/167613868000?fref=ts

Bepolite

I'm not overly sure what you want the guards to do about it. Seems a fairly throw away comment used by many from time to time. The adoption of Laws such as the UK's Communications Act (IIRC) normally attracts some pretty strong opposition, when suggested here.

BattleCorp

Bepolite wrote: »

I'm not overly sure what you want the guards to do about it. Seems a fairly throw away comment used by many from time to time. The adoption of Laws such as the UK's Communications Act (IIRC) normally attracts some pretty strong opposition, when suggested here.

To you it might be a throwaway comment, but if the people in the photo are Muslim, or travellers, what happens then?

Can you be accused of trying to incite hatred?

Bepolite

BattleCorp wrote: »

To you it might be a throwaway comment, but if the people in the photo are Muslim, or travellers, what happens then?

Can you be accused of trying to incite hatred?

I'm not sure they are inciting hatred. I think if one takes these types of things too seriously we start adding credibility to morons. My knowledge of the 1989 Acts isn't great if I'm honest, I do know there have been very few convictions under it.

Given something live After Hours on this very website, I'm not sure these things can be taken seriously in most cases. Perhaps the OP's issue is the exception. I'm torn on this issue to be honest. One the one hand I think it's very heavy handed to arrest and jail people over burning a Poppy, but exactly where should the line be drawn?

Grolschevik

In the North, a Unionist politician was recently prosecuted for something very similar.

Jack Weasel.

As has been said, just print off the page and take it to a station, doesn't have to be your local one either.

dats_right

There is a constitutional right to freedom of expression albeit this is not an absolute right and can be limited in certain circumstances, such as incitement to hatred, defamation, public order, etc. However an ill advised, objectionable and silly remark is in all reality very unlikely to lead to any action being taken by the Gardai as their resources are limited and can perhaps be put to better use in more serious matters than offensive comments on social media websites.

Perhaps the OP would be better advised to simply report said comments to social media provider.

Boulevardier

I took a printout into my local garda station last night. The officer on duty looked at it and said that one of the people named in the item would have to make the complaint for it to be handled seriously.

That is one aspect of the matter, but the other is that the Gardai are simply not geared to handling of offences committed online, or to the online reporting of offences, and this worries me in 2013.

Honey-ec

Boulevardier wrote: »

the Gardai are simply not geared to handling of offences committed online, or to the online reporting of offences, and this worries me in 2013.

Was an offence, in legal terms, actually committed, though, or was it just an offensive comment?

Boulevardier

This was, in my opinion, a potentially illegal comment as it contained an apparent incitement to others to go and shoot 2 named individuals. I do not know the exact law but I felt it was worth reporting.

The officer on duty was of the view that the fellow was BS-ing, and that in any case, one of the potential vistims would have to report it.

Bepolite

Boulevardier wrote: »

That is one aspect of the matter, but the other is that the Gardai are simply not geared to handling of offences committed online, or to the online reporting of offences, and this worries me in 2013.

Well no argument there. However the issue is the recourses needed to tackle, in comparative terms, what are quite minor offences. A more sensible solution would be to ensure social media providers have the relevant safe guards in place and , God forbid, this turned out to be serious, the right safeguards to allow them to divulge user info.

Boulevardier

I do not think it should all be left to the providers, and in fact I would rather not see them turn into snoopers.

I can't see that it would cost that much for the gardai to supply one e-mail address for the reporting of online offences.

My suspicion is that the Gardai want all their customers to present themselves in person, because that enables them to easily identify their informants, and because it deters people who are not so concerned about the offence that they will take the trouble to go in person.

schemingbohemia

I see where you're coming from, but if everything could be reported by email the Garda would be inundated with unsubstantiated rubbish fairly quickly I would think. Having to present oneself in person shows that the person is serious about the situation.

Obviously in your case it was a third party complaint. Did you inform the subject of the "threat" about the "threat"?

No Pants

I'd like the Gardai to stick to investigating real crimes in the real world and ignore what gets posted on social media as much as possible.