Sending threatening messages is when someone communicates, either online or offline, that they or someone else will:

Whether they intend to do what they’ve threatened or whether you actually feel afraid doesn't matter. It's an offence because they wanted to cause you fear by sending this type of message.

You might not be sure who sent the threatening message or what they intended when they sent it. That doesn’t matter, you can still report it to us and we’ll decide how to follow up on the details you give us.

Sending threatening messages can also be known as ‘death threats’, ‘cyber bullying’, ‘harassment’, or ‘trolling’.

You can report to us, and if it happened online you can also report to the social media company. First, we'll tell you how you can report to us.

Before you report

You don't need to gather 'evidence' like screenshots, text messages, videos or photos before you report to us.

All you need to do when you report is tell us what happened. 

If you can collect any screenshots, text messages, videos or photos, details like these can be useful to us:

If you were online:

If you were offline:

Ways to report

You can report these crimes online.

Your report will be sent direct to our control room where it will be reviewed by the same team who answer our calls.

Visit a police station

If you want to speak to an officer in person, we can provide a safe and comfortable environment at any of our police stations.

If you need a translator, we can provide someone by phone to start with and later in person.