Police arrest warning after officer abused online

A police force has warned arrests could be made in the future after one of its officers was abused online.

Dozens of comments were directed at a police community support officer on one of Derbyshire Police's verified Facebook pages, the force said.

The officer was updating followers on the work of the Safer Neighbourhood Team. The post received more than 200 comments, but a police spokesperson said many were "personal and abusive towards the person in the post".

In a statement condemning the abuse, the force said the officer was abused for "simply doing their job" and the comments had a "big impact" on them.

Supt Rebecca Webster said: "As police officers and staff, we expect, and fully understand, that our actions will face scrutiny.

"However, what is utterly intolerable are comments that target individuals simply based on their gender, their ethnicity, or perceived sexuality.

"Freedom of speech is a qualified right – not absolute – and where individuals step over the line into criminal actions then these will be reviewed and, if necessary, further action can be taken - this can include arrest."

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