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How To Report A Threat To The Police

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How To Report Harassment The Easiest Way With Donotpay

Harassment can happen to anyone, anywhere. It could happen in the workplace, on the street, over the phone, and on the often conveniently anonymous internet. You could be harassed by anyone, including former lovers, your neighbors, or your landlord. The official statistics on different types of harassment in the U.S. are concerningly high across the board, which probably means that the real picture is even grimmer.

So, what does it mean when somebody is harassing you? Sadly, there is more than one answer to this question. Harassment is an umbrella term that can cover a multitude of different types of abuse. Under U.S. laws, harassment is described as any repeated or uninvited contact that serves no useful purpose beyond creating alarm, annoyance, or emotional distress.

As a society, we are at risk of getting desensitized to harassment and bullying. This is all the more reason to educate ourselves, speak up, and stand up against the abuse.

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How To Deal With Harassment On Facebook

Did you know that, according to Statista, 77% of online harassment victims reported that they had been harassed via Facebook? If you find yourself in this situation, here are :

  • Unfriend the abuser
  • Block the person
  • Report the person or their abusive posts

In case the offender starts bothering you in messages on Facebook, there are a few steps specific to that situation that you should take, including the following:

  • Block messages from that person
  • Report the threatening message
  • Click on Ignore Messages
  • Delete the conversation

If you decide to delete the conversation, dont forget to take a screenshot first so that you have proof of harassment for future use if need be.

Another useful thing you can do on Facebook is report harassment even if youre not the victim, but your friend is.

Facebook gives you an option to report posts that show hate speech, violence or harmful behavior, or sexually explicit content.

Workplace And Sexual Harassment

How to Report Threats to the Police

When the U.S. Congress passed the Civil Rights Act and its Title VII that banned workplace discrimination based on race, color, religion, national origin, and sex, a foundation for the first harassment law was laid. For the harassment in the workplace to be illegal, the law dictates that this type of behavior must besevere or pervasive enough to create a work environment that a reasonable person would consider intimidating, hostile, or abusive. If enduring this kind of conduct becomes a condition that the victim keeps their employment, the law also sees this as harassment. In other words, its illegal if the employee/victim complains about the harassment, and the offender or the company threatens to fire them because of it.

Sexual harassment is a type of harassment that involves things like requests for sexual favors or dates, sexual advances, derogatory or vulgar comments about the victims appearance, lewd comments or jokes, etc.

Workplace and sexual harassment can be separate instances of abuse, but an individual can also be subjected to both at the same time. In fact, many victims experience sexual harassment primarily in the workplace, and most of it is quid pro quo harassment. In 2017, the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission received 26,978 claims of workplace harassment, of which a little more than half were about sex-based harassment and a quarter specifically about sexual harassment.

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Someone Has Been Sending Me Offensive Emails Or Threatening / Harassing Me Over The Internet What Should I Do

If the harassment is physically threatening or contains racial, sexual or religious overtones, it may constitute an offence and should be reported by calling us on 105 or visiting your local police station as soon as possible.

For more advice, visit NetSafe or freephone 0508 NETSAFE .

If the person is harassing you online via email, an online messaging service or on a social networking site, you can also contact the site and ask them to deal with the person in accordance with their terms and conditions. You can also set up your email to block messages from unwelcome email addresses. NetSafe can help you with this.

If you feel you are in immediate danger call 111.

An Important Issue About Cyber Crime

Unfortunately, many cities and/or states are still learning how to address cyber bullying, internet harassment, SMS / text harassment, and so on. The reason for this is because before the internet become a tool to harass and threaten, police were given “jurisdictions” and each law enforcement agency operated within their jurisdiction.

When a “crime” occurs on the internet, many law enforcement officials do not know how specifically to deal with the issue since the crime occurred online. “Cyberspace” is not in a specific jurisdiction.

For more information, read What Happens After Text Message Harassment is Reported to Police.

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What You Need To Report

Identification information is optional and if provided, may assist us in the further investigation of an event.

You need to provide sufficient detail to identify your property, including:

  • unique or distinguishing features, colours and/or markings
  • make, model, brand
  • serial/ID numbers
  • IMEI numbers for phones
  • the circumstances of how the items were lost.

Reporting Crime By Phone

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If something youre worried about is happening right now call 111. If your matter isnt urgent please call 105.

105 is a national non-emergency number that will be answered 24/7 by Police. The call taker will work to resolve the matter, which might include putting the caller through to their local station for it to be dealt with.

Both 111 for emergencies and 105 for non-emergencies are staffed with highly trained people who are able to help callers with their specific issues.

Any report taken by Police will be analysed to see whether there is sufficient information to pursue. Police will contact you to let you know what action has been taken.

If you have already made a report to Police, you can go online to 105.police.govt.nz and request an update, add more information or withdraw your report.

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How The Police Can Help

The Online Safety Act allows eSafety to investigate serious adult cyber abuse as a civil matter. This means we may be able to help have the harmful content removed and take enforcement action such as seeking fines or penalties for those who do not remove it. But the police may be able to go further, by investigating whether a criminal offence has been committed.

If you are feeling unsafe or frightened, or threats have been made to harm you or your friends or family, it is important to contact the police they may be able to help protect you.

Whether they can take criminal action against the person responsible will depend on the type of abuse and the laws that apply in your state or territory.

Even if there are no specific laws the police can use for your particular case, you can ask them to record your complaint in a report. This means that if the abuse continues or gets worse, there is a record of your concerns which may assist with future investigations.

In some cases, the police may also help you seek a protective order to prevent or limit the person from contacting you.

The police will consider factors like the severity of the abuse, how long it has been going on, whether there is enough evidence to prove who is carrying out the abuse, and where that person is located.

How To File A Police Report

Contact your police department if you believe that whats happened to you constitutes a threat. This doesnt necessarily mean calling 911. In most cases, it means calling the regular police department phone number or stopping by the police station in person to talk to an officer on duty. You can explain whats happened and tell the officer that you want to make a report. In some jurisdictions, the police will write and submit the report for you. In others, you can do it yourself. In either case, make sure you keep a copy.

Some larger cities, have special non-emergency numbers where you can submit a report over the phone. And in some jurisdictions, you can go to your countys criminal courthouse to file a complaint there rather than at the police department. Call ahead to check with the court clerk to find out if this is possible. Read More:How to File a Police Report Without Proof

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When Is A Threat A Crime

First, its important to distinguish between verbal and emotional abuse and an outright threat. Someone might yell at you and disparage you, but unless he specifically suggests that hes going to cause harm to you personally, to a loved one like a child or to your property or even your pets, the act probably doesnt rise to the level of a criminal threat offense. A threat must involve the fear of physical injury or damage. It cant just be a warning that the person will try to get you fired or otherwise negatively interfere with your life and cause you problems. The perpetrator must also be physically able to do whatever it is that hes threatening to do.

Prepare Information On The Abuser For The Report

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If you want the police to protect you as soon as possible, you will need to provide certain information about the abuser. Here are some details that can be of great help in tracking the offender and protecting you from further harassment:

  • Name
    • Using a carriage service to harass, make threats, or harm a user in any other way

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    If This Is An Emergency Please Call 9

    The Greater Sudbury Police Service is committed to Policing with Excellence and Professionalism by pursuing and applying best practices in the planning and execution of all core policing functions. Our goal is to ensure the right resources are deployed to the right place at the right time, effectively and efficiently serving our community.

    In order to better serve our community, we have made a variety of report types available online.

    Before getting started, there are a few things you should know before submitting an online report.

    • We can only accept reports where the incident happened within the City of Greater Sudbury.
    • You must have a valid email address to file an online report.
    • An Officer will NOT attend your residence/business after an online report is submitted .
    • If you are reporting a Sexual Assault, you will be contacted by a Detective.
    • For all other report types, you will ONLY be contacted if more information is required.

    If you do not see the report type you are looking to file, please call our non-emergency number at 705-675-9171.

    Begin filing an online report for:

    Not every police department in the U.S. follows the same procedural rules for reporting crimes, but most have similar criminal laws. Threats are indeed crimes, subject to certain conditions. The police should be told if youve been threatened, but how you would do that can vary by state and even from city to city.

    You Cannot File A Report Online If

    • A threat was made or violence was used during the incident. If you are in immediate danger, please dial 911. If you are no longer in danger, please call us at 613-236-1222, extension 7300.
    • Evidence was left on the scene such as, but not limited to blood, tools, clothes or any item related to the incident. Please call 613-236-1222, extension 7300 to file a report.
    • The incident being reported did not happen in Ottawa. Please contact the police service in the city where the incident happened to file a report.
    • The stolen property is a passport
    • The property lost is a cell phone, licence plate, bank card or government issued identification, with or without a serial number. Please contact your service provider to get a replacement.

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    What To Do If Your Identity Is Stolen

    If youve become a victim of identity theft, immediately change the login information and passwords on your affected accounts, notify your credit card companies, and file an identity theft report with the relevant governmental authority. The identity theft report launches an investigation, so you can recover your stolen identity and clear your name.

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    This article contains:

    If youre in the US, file an identity theft report with the Federal Trade Commission and get a personalized plan to guide you through the recovery process. In the UK, report the theft to Action Fraud theyll send your report to the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau , who investigate reports across the country.

    Your completed FTC identity theft report will help you when you contact the police and credit bureaus it proves that youve taken steps to mitigate the damage and are prepared to catch the fraudsters.

    What Types Of Reports Can Be Filed Online

    FBI urges local police departments to share threat reports

    Police reports where you’re in immediate danger cannot be filed online, and neither can you do it online when you know the person who has committed a crime against you. Typically, these types of reports can be filed online:

    Harassing phone calls in which you don’t know who’s calling Lost items, such as leaving an item on a bus or train
    Stolen items worth less than $1000 Vandalism
    Vehicle burglary Vehicle tampering

    This isn’t everything that can be filed online, but if your type of case isn’t listed then it would be best to do specific research on whether filing online is an option for you. The process can be quite long, though, if you can’t find much information at first.

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    How To Report Harassing Text Messages To The Police

    I am a child model who has experience being on television and music videos.

    “Harassment” is legally defined as repeated, unwanted contact. This contact can come in any form, from in-person contact to internet or phone communications. Harassment via text message is yet another form that can be very brutal, emotional and scary for the individual being harassed.

    Harassment does not have to be threatening to be “harassing.”

    It can take the form of abusive messages or text message “spam.” Regardless of the situation, it is not legal nor justified and you have the right to take action.

    Here are the specific steps to take in order to report a case of text harassment.

    Telling Police In Person

    Report the threat in person if you have documents or other evidence you want to show to the police, or if your local police department doesn’t take reports over the phone.

  • 1Find the nearest local police station. Go to the local law enforcement website for a list of police stations. You can also use the GPS app on your phone to find a police station and get directions from your current location.XResearch source
  • Generally, you should report the threats where they occur. However, this applies to the city as a wholenot individual precincts. So, for example, if you live in Los Angeles, you can generally use the most convenient police station, even if you received the threats on the other side of town.
  • 2Visit the police station during normal business hours. While police stations are typically staffed 24/7, you’ll have better luck filing a police report if you go during the day. Try to go first thing in the morning when there’s usually a shorter wait. Bring a valid photo ID so the police can verify your identity.XResearch source
  • In many cities, you also have the option of having an officer dispatched to your location to take the report. If you use this option, you might be waiting for a while before the officer arrives, particularly on busy days.XResearch source
  • The officer might ask you questions to learn more information about the situation. Answer all questions as completely and truthfully as you can, even if they don’t seem relevant to you.
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    Criminal Threats And How To Deal With Them

    August 23, 2014 by Arkady Bukh

    Criminal threats are a serious crime and should be considered as such. They are often also known as terrorist threats.

    Criminal threats refer to a situation when a person intentionally makes a threat of violence or indicates an intention to hurt, injure or kill someone. The threat can be made in person, or over the phone or electronically. It can be aimed toward a person, a group of people, a public place, a building or on a form of transportation. Criminal threats can cause a great deal of terror. Most suspects who make such threats are assumed to have the capability and the ability to carry out those threats.

    People can sometimes me unsure of what exactly qualifies as a criminal threat. Consider the example of a neighbor who is often bad tempered, has previously been arrested for fighting and is known to own several guns. If you get into a serious argument with him and he threatens to kill you will his rifle, you should take that as a criminal threat. That is because you are aware that your neighbor owns guns you are aware of his temper. Such a person has the capability and the ability to carry out his threat.

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