Reporting Online Harm to the Police
Some forms of online harm may be a criminal offence and should be reported to the police. This could include threats, stalking or harassment, hate crime, intimate image abuse, blackmail or other behaviour that makes you feel unsafe.
When should I contact the police?
If you or someone else is in immediate danger, or a crime is happening now, call 999.
For non-emergencies, you can contact the police by calling 101 or report a crime online through your local police force.
You do not need to know whether something definitely breaks the law before speaking to the police. You can explain what has happened and they can advise you on the appropriate next steps.
What information should I provide?
Try to keep as much information and evidence as you safely can. This might include:
Screenshots or screen recordings
Links or URLs to the content
Usernames and account/profile links
Dates and times
Where possible, avoid deleting messages or other evidence before it has been saved.
Should I report the content to the platform as well?
You can usually report harmful content directly to the platform where it has been posted. If you believe, however, that a crime has taken place, reporting something to a social media platform is not a replacement for reporting it to the police.
If you are concerned that reporting or blocking someone could put you at further risk, particularly in cases involving stalking, harassment or domestic abuse, consider speaking to the police or a specialist support service first.
How can we help?
The Adult Online Safety Centre can provide information about online harms, reporting content to platforms and other organisations that may be able to support you, we can also help escalate content to the platform for removal.
We cannot investigate crimes or replace the role of the police.