NEARLY 2,000 more arrests were made by West Yorkshire Police for online abuse and malicious communications last year, new figures show.

Online abuse has been in the spotlight more and more in recent years following several high-profile cases, where people in the public like MPs – including Bradford West MP Naz Shah - and footballers have been targeted.

Ms Shah and her family had to flee their home in the middle of the night after Sundas Alam, made threats including “do you want a bullet through your window or a rifle in your head”.

Alam, 30, of Princeville Street, Lidget Green, was jailed for three-and-a-half years.

In the UK, two main offences cover online abuse – section 127 offences, which specifically relate to digital technology, and section one of the Malicious Communications Act 1988, which also covers 'old-fashioned' ways of communicating, such as letters and phone calls, but is often used for online harassment.

Figures from West Yorkshire Police, obtained through a Freedom of Information request, show 2,403 arrests were made across both offences in 2021 – up 32 per cent from 1,821 the year before.

In 2021, 263 arrests were for section 127 offences, and 2,140 were under the Malicious Communications Act.

In some cases, individuals may be arrested for more than one offence, meaning an arrest could appear multiple times in these figures.

Glitch, a charity working to end online abuse, called the issue a huge problem that has "only become more urgent in recent years".

There were 234 prosecutions across both offences in West Yorkshire in 2021 – the same as the year before.

In 2021, 87 prosecutions were for section 127 offences, and 147 were for malicious communications.

Last year, the Law Commission, a body which keeps the law of England and Wales under review, labelled both offences as outdated and called for them to be replaced.

In February, the Government committed to taking on the commission's recommendations in its Online Safety Bill, which is currently being discussed by Parliament.

Tony Neate, CEO at Get Safe Online, which provides advice on using the internet responsibly, said that while the Online Safety Bill may address some of these issues, tech companies also need to improve how they moderate content.

The Online Safety Bill is set to impose penalties on social media companies that do not clamp down on abuse on their platforms.

A spokesperson for the Department of Culture, Media and Sport said the bill would lead to a "major improvement" in people's online safety.

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