People in North Yorkshire urged to use caution with misleading information being posted online
The warning comes from the Yorkshire and Humber Organised Crime Unit
Last updated 8th Aug 2024
Everyone in North Yorkshire's being urged to be cautious when it comes to misleading information being posted online.
It follows the week of riots that have been taking place across England, although no major incidents have been reported here.
Police were braced for a further night of unrest last night (Wednesday) but events were largely peaceful, with thousands of anti-racism protestors taking to the streets instead.
The riots were in part started by misinformation, which was spread online, about the identity of the suspect in the attack in Southport last week - in which three girls died.
Andy Fox is part of the team at the Yorkshire and Humber Organised Crime Unit and he says;
'It's very difficult to distinguish at times what is real and what is not real.
'But you can see when that information is out there, it's very difficult to counter.
'In the end, people will believe what they want to believe. If it fits their narrative then they will believe it.
'Social media has lots and lots of benefits, but if it's in the wrong hands, it absolutely can be deadly'.
Home Office minister Dame Diana Johnson has said the de-escalation in violence seen on Wednesday night is "just the start" as she claimed "swift justice" has acted as a deterrence for potential rioters.
Asked if she believed the levels of disorder had turned a corner overnight, Dame Diana told Sky News: "I am cautious about what happened last night.
"It's good that we didn't see the level of disorder and criminality on our streets that we have in previous days, but obviously this is just the start. There is now further intelligence of events during the next few days, and we need to see what happens there."
She added:
"I think what's happened is that the presence of the police on our streets, combined with the consequences that people are now seeing for the actions that they've taken in terms of the criminal acts on the streets.
"So we've seen people arrested, over 400 people arrested. We've seen over 120 people charged. We're now seeing people actually in court being convicted and actually sentenced.
"Yesterday, there was the case of the man who punched a police officer in Southport last week getting three years.
"There are consequences for the criminality on our streets, and I think that swift justice that we're seeing is also helping to make people think twice about getting involved on the streets."