A UK Probation report looking at the work of Youth Offending Teams (YOTs) in the UK found that social media is being used to both incite and plan crimes. The report, published at the end of last year, also found that most young people who commit serious crimes have had disturbing and traumatic experiences during childhood, and a significant number end up care.

The report noted that: “in one in four of the cases we inspected, the young person’s use of social media was directly related to the offence they had committed….This is new behaviour.”

The report made a number of recommendations, including that the trauma young people in the youth justice system have suffered in their lives should be taken into account, and that guidance and resources are available for responding to social media related offending.