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October 10, 2011- Combating Cyber-bullying: A Societal Mission

Post Date:October 10, 2011

By Reserve Deputy Keith E Thome Jr
Macomb County Sheriff’s Office Macomb, Michigan

When I first decided to write this article, I began as I do most of my professional articles. I was ready to present “the numbers.” Detailing how many cyber crime cases The Macomb Area Computer Enforcement (M.A.C.E.) opened last year, how many arrests were made and the number of search warrants served. But writing this particular article was an opportunity to do a little more. An opportunity to not only inform you of what the Macomb County Sheriff’s Office as a unit and law enforcement community are doing to combat cyber-bullying, but also why we do it and why everyone else should be taking an active role in preventing it as well.

When I first heard Megan’s story, it is hard to express how much sadness I felt. How could a girl with so much potential and future take her own life because of “some rude electronic posts?” Knowing Megan’s story now it feels a little cold writing that last sentence but I did so for a reason. You see, that is how many that are uneducated or unaware of cyber-bullying probably think. How can anyone take something written online that serious? It is only online, how can it affect the “real world.”

Society has entered a new arena of social interaction. Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, they all have changed the paradigm of how we interact, perceive and even treat others. How many times have you heard of a person being “de-friended” because of a real life conflict? Or carrying over a real life conflict and posting snide remarks online? We are beginning to blend our online worlds with our living breathing world. This can be a positive advance in humanity but it also has the potential to expose a darker, more sinister side. A side that has always existed but now is much easier to engage.

Cyber-bullying simplifies bullying to a level we have never experienced before. Bullies don’t have to physically interact with the person they are bullying. They don’t have to hear their victim’s voice when they say hurtful things or see the hurt in the victim’s eyes because of those words. Because of this, many that would not otherwise bully feel comfortable doing so online or via a text message because to them, it is a victimless crime. Just using the words “bully”, “comfortable”, and “victimless” in the same sentence should convey to you, the reader, the societal tragedy that this indicates.

How then, as a society, do we confront this problem and allow the benefits of this new social interaction to still flourish? In my business and that of my colleagues, the business of enforcing law is proportional to the business of preventing crime. The more crime prevention you can accomplish, the number of offenses committed surrounding that crime drop. Combating cyber-bullying is no different in that respect. So in a sense, cyber-bullying in its nature does in fact have vulnerability. The manner in which cyber-bullying operates, in an obscure and “yeah, I’ve heard of it but don’t know much about it” nature, can also be its vulnerability. A vulnerability that we as a society must exploit to save the lives of young men and women like Megan through awareness training and the courage to stop it at the citizen level.

We are all charged with the responsibility of stopping cyber-bullying as members of our society. It is not just the person on our left, or the person on our rights responsibility to identify when potential cyber-bullying is occurring and assist the person on the other end of their attacks. We are all charged with this mission. When you overhear or see somebody engaged in cyber-bullying it is your duty as a citizen in society to speak up and inform that person or group of individuals that it is not acceptable for them to be doing so. It isn’t “cool” or “fly” to attack other people no matter what the motive is. This collective disdain is how most unwanted behaviors are curbed by a society. I find it amazing that people will eagerly speak up when they witness somebody throw garbage on their property or breaking into a vehicle but terrified to stand up to somebody cyber-bullying when it is such a destructive and hurtful act.

To enable members of society to accomplish this, many law enforcement agencies around the United States have begun to offer awareness training in and around their communities. These high impact, information rich presentations aim to educate the audience on how to recognize cyber-bullying, help those who are victims of cyber-bullying and what to do in the event they cross paths with a cyber-bully, or in some cases, a group of cyber-bullies.

Roughly ten years ago, our then Sheriff Mark Hackel created the unit that I now serve in under Sheriff Anthony Wickersham, the Macomb County Sheriff’s Office Macomb Area Computer Enforcement (MACE) Unit. Our unit is currently comprised of four Criminal Investigators, two Forensics Investigators and seven Reserve Deputies that provide awareness and prevention training. This hand picked talent and collective knowledge base surrounding criminal investigation, computer crime, IT, and computer security indicates that Sheriff Wickersham and the Macomb County Sheriff’s Office is serious about combating all forms of cyber crime, especially cyber-bullying. The notion that cyber-bullies can easily conduct their activities because of law enforcement’s ineptness in cyber crime methodologies is becoming a thing of the past.

Serving a community population of roughly 841,000 citizens in 2010, The Macomb County Sheriff’s Office has opened 621 cyber crime cases, arrested 32 individuals charged with various cyber crimes and served 140 search warrants. The number of cases alone should signify how rampant cyber crime has become. In 2010, the unit conducted more than 68 presentations to schools and organizations covering everything from Internet Safety to of course cyber-bullying. Many of those who are train are officials that are then charged to in turn utilize the training we have provided to educate their peers and subordinates, effectively becoming what is known as a “force multiplier.” MACE also offers custom tailored training based on age group including a student base beginning at 3rd grade. These presentations are absolutely free of charge to all attendees and contain up to date information on the latest techniques and avenues cyber-bullies are utilizing to harass and attack their victims. I would encourage everyone reading this to seek out your local law enforcement agency and see if they are providing a service like this for your school, church or organization.

The effects this awareness training has had on our community, as predicted, has been successful in curbing the amount of cyber-bullying cases we have received. Statistics withholding, saving even one person like Megan from suffering at the hands of a cyber-bully would prove the mission a success in my personal opinion. Professionally, I can assure the reader that law enforcement is in fact engaging this new avenue of victimization aggressively. With every passing moment, a cyber-bully is logging on to spread rumors and victimize. That victim could be your son or daughter, brother or sister. I challenge you to be a part of the solution by educating yourself and your peers on how to recognize, identify and stop cyber-bullying so that we don’t lose another wonderful person like Megan.

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