Merseyside PCC candidates discuss policing in a digital age

Police said it was investigating "footage uploaded to social media" that was shot in Liverpool city centre

Is policing able to keep up with the digital age – especially when it comes to social media?

That was an issue raised in a debate between the four candidates hoping to be elected as the next Merseyside Police and Crime Commissioner.

It comes after a BBC investigation found videos taken of women on nights out in Liverpool and Manchester without their knowledge have gained millions of views on social media and attracted a slew of misogynistic comments.

The four politicians hoping to take up the role agreed that digital-related crimes such as that and others like revenge porn were a growing concern, but had different views on the solution.

Mr Carubia said social media companies should be held to account more

Liberal Democrat Chris Carubia said the law needed to adapt to the online landscape.

He said other crimes such as upskirting have been introduced, which meant police can act on that now.

"Maybe we need to go down that road," he said.

However, he said it would be very challenging to police.

"Imagine 500 people in a club and everyone’s filming – how the hell can a police officer tell whether they’re taking photographs of someone or not?" he said.

He added social media companies should be held to account more for the content published on their platforms.

Ms Onwuemene said the issue was down to "a lack of respect between people"

The Green Party's Amanda Onwuemene said police powers were limited without legislation and forces did not have the resources or the numbers to be able to monitor thousands of revellers and what they might be filming on a night out.

“If there isn’t a law against this then the police are in a difficult situation” she said.

However, she added that there was "a lack of respect between people and it’s down to teaching and training" to educate particularly teenagers in this area.

Ms Spurrell said women should not face "this level of abuse"

Labour’s candidate Emily Spurrell, who has served as the area's PCC since 2021, said there was a "constant balance between when it becomes a crime targeting people and causing harm and distress and when it is free speech and when people have the right to film people in public".

"It’s difficult to navigate," she said.

She said education was key and she had funded programmes in schools to inform children about consent and online safety in her previous term.

She added that women "should be able to move around spaces safely and not face this level of abuse".

Mr Teesdale said the issue was a "societal problem"

Conservative Bob Teesdale said it would be hard to make it a crime when filming in public was so prevalent.

He said the PCC was limited in what they could do in the role to tackle the problem, apart from direct Merseyside's chief constable to prioritise dealing with it.

He said it was a "societal problem", part of a wider abuse of women online, but there appeared to be a lack of political will to tackle it.

He said it was disappointing that the idea of limiting access to smartphones to children under 16 had not been pursued.

Merseyside Police said while it was not illegal to film people in public, "if the action is causing distress or harassment it could be considered criminal".

Insp Jack Woodward said the force was "aware of footage uploaded to social media that appears to show women walking around Liverpool city centre during nights out and we are making enquiries".

“We have a number of measures in place to protect the public, including... plain clothes and uniformed officers tasked with identifying potential perpetrators displaying signs of predatory behaviour and to disrupt those who present a potential risk," he said.

He added that anyone who had "any additional information" about potential offences or who had been "harassed during a night out" should contact police.