Allen County-Scottsville Crime Task Force warns youth against online threats
ALLEN COUNTY, Ky. – Students are only a few weeks into the new school year, but Allen County law enforcement officials say they have already investigated two instances involving online threats toward students.
The Allen County-Scottsville Crime Task Force is reminding students and parents that comments made as jokes or pranks online can have serious real-world consequences once they cross the line into threats.
Ryan Dillon with the Allen County-Scottsville Crime Task Force said similar incidents are happening nationwide, and students should not assume anonymity or deleting an account will prevent investigators from identifying who is responsible.
“When those jokes cross the line, that’s where law enforcement becomes involved,” Dillon said. “It’s a nationwide problem, and our job is to educate these kids who are messing around with Snapchat, TikTok, AI, ChatGPT. When you cross the line, we’re going to get involved and we’re going to figure out who you are. It’s not difficult.”
Dillon said social media companies have procedures in place to assist law enforcement when investigators are responding to threats.
Through the legal process, investigators can seek information connected to an account, including IP addresses, email accounts and phone numbers. Dillon said information may still be available to investigators even after a post or account has been deleted.
That digital information can then help investigators determine where a threat originated and potentially identify the person responsible.
“I want students to know that, and criminals for that matter, that social media has been a blessing for law enforcement,” Dillon said. “It definitely makes our job easier because none of that stuff goes away. You’re easily traceable, and all it takes is 20 minutes of paperwork and we’re going to figure out who you are.”
Law enforcement officials encourage parents and students who receive an online threat to report it immediately and preserve as much information as possible, including the account username and details surrounding the threat.
