Amber Rudd launches new police unit to silence trolls posting hate crime online

The crackdown, to be announced by Amber Rudd today, will improve support for victims and drive up prosecutions of those who abuse other internet users based on their race, religion, sexual orientation or disability.

The Home Secretary said: “Online hate crime is completely unacceptable. What is illegal offline is illegal online and those who commit these cowardly crimes should be met with the full force of the law.

“The national online hate crime hub we are funding is an important step to ensure that more victims have the confidence to come forward and report the vile abuse to which they are being subjected.

The hub will also improve our understanding of the scale and nature of this despicable form of abuse. “With the police, we will use this new intelligence to adapt our response so that even more victims are safeguarded and perpetrators punished.”

Run by a small team of specialist officers, the unit will make referrals to online platforms so that hateful material can be removed. It will determine whether the trolling amounts to a crime, help to identify perpetrators and clarify the force responsible for the incident.

Uncertainty can arise from a troll being in one town, and a victim in another.

The move comes after groups monitoring anti-Semitic and Islamophobic abuse have reported that a significant proportion of incidents involve the internet.

Social media platforms have repeatedly come under the spotlight because of their perceived lack of response to the problem.

National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for hate crime Assistant Chief Constable Mark Hamilton said: “Whether online or in person, nobody should have to live with threats and hatred because of who they are.

“Hateful abuse online can leave victims with significant psychological harm but can also lead to more serious physical offences. So police need to be able to intervene at the earliest possible stage, to reassure victims that we will act to protect them.

“This new national hub will enable a small team of specialist officers to significantly improve the service we provide to victims, reduce the burden on frontline officers and help bring more offenders to justice.

“We recognise and will uphold the right to free speech even where it causes offence but this does not extend to inciting hatred or threatening people.”

Efforts to tackle hate crime have come under close scrutiny.

There was a surge in reports following the EU referendum in June 2016, while police registered a spike around the terrorist attacks that hit the UK earlier this year.

A total of 62,518 hate crimes were recorded by forces in England and Wales in 2015/16, while the CPS completed a record 15,442 hate crime prosecutions.

The new hub is expected to be operational before the end of the year.