Going to the police: When the criminal law can help with harassment
Overview
The worst kinds of harassment – including cyberbullying – can be a crime, and therefore you may be able to make a criminal complaint to the police.
There are a number of different Acts that include criminal offences in this area. Some of them, like the Harassment Act, deal with harassment, bullying and intimidation regardless of the form of the behaviour – that is, whether it’s face to face, or through a note in your letterbox, or through texts, emails and online posts.
In July 2015, however, the Harmful Digital Communications Act created a new offence specifically aimed at cyberbullying or other online harassment (see in this section, “Causing harm by cyberbullying (Harmful Digital Communications Act)”).
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