Rise in death threats in Nottinghamshire

Death threats have become more common as part of a wider increase in online abuse – and new data shows numbers have surged over the past few years.

New figures from the Home Office show the number of “threats to kill” offences recorded by Nottinghamshire Police has risen 9 per cent in the past few years, from 1,488 in the year to June 2019 to 1,619 in the year to June 2022.

Threatening to kill someone can carry a prison sentence of up to 10 years.

Diana Fawcett, chief executive of charity Victim Support, said, while these figures may reflect an increase in the number of people coming forward, police must take threats seriously.

“Death threats are terrifying – especially because they are normally part of a bigger picture of abuse – like hate crime or domestic abuse,” she said.

“This huge rise in offences, coupled with a big drop in charging rates, suggests police are struggling to deal with the volume of this crime.”

In Nottinghamshire, 132 of these offences, 8.2 per cent, resulted in a charge or summons in the year to June, down from 13.4 per cent in the year to June 2019.

No suspect was identified in 11.2 per cent of cases, while 16.6 per cent were dropped due to evidential difficulties, despite a suspect being identified and the victim supporting action.

Calls for action against death threats have increased in recent years, with public figures, politicians and sportspeople speaking out about the volume of threats they face on social media.

Across England and Wales, 51,308 such offences were recorded, up 49 per cent from 34,398 before the pandemic.

Nationally, charge rates have dropped from 11.5 per cent in the year to June 2019, to 6.6 per cent in the year to June 2022.

A Home Office spokesman said: “Police-recorded violence should be interpreted with caution as increases may reflect improvements made by forces in identifying and recording offences, as well as an increase in victims reporting incidents.

“We are injecting record funds into policing, giving police the powers they need to bear down on crime and are on track to deliver on the commitment to recruit 20,000 additional police officers by March 2023.