Stockton Police Department launches anti-cyberbullying campaign
STOCKTON — Technology has changed the way we interact with one another and also the way children are bullied – with sometimes deadly results. That's why the Stockton Police Department is pushing an online campaign to stop it.
Officer Omer Edhah showed us some of the online messaging being pushed out by his department on social media to bring awareness to the issue of cyberbullying.
"Somebody tries to steal your identity, posting stuff on your behalf, exposing you out there, sending photos that they may have obtained to unwanted persons,"
Experts say cyberbullies commonly know their victims in real life and have often been bullied themselves.
Youth tend to stay quiet about online abuse, which can lead to depression and even suicide. It's become such an issue that the Stockton Unified School District has enlisted the help of Digital4Good, an organization that aims to raise awareness of cyberbullying while empowering students and educators to develop online safety and wellness.
The California-based nonprofit visits schools to do presentations about how to be what they call a "digital first responder." Their curriculum shows what to look for and offers free resources like a social media emergency plan that helps staff, administrators, and police resource officers take down fake pages, hate pages, suicide threats, and provide help with sextortion cases.
"As technology progresses and evolves, also, the criminal behavior attached to that wall will be out there. So we will do our best to combat that," Officer Edhah said.
Ultimately, the goal is to get the victim the support they need, like counseling, and turn over bullies to the appropriate authorities.
