This in from Hampshire Police, in their words. You might remember their threat against those using Social Networks to encouraging rioting – Ed.
Officers are continuing to work around the clock to quell the potential for copycat incidents occurring in the two counties, with intelligence teams dedicated to monitoring social media to detect early signs of people trying to generate violence.
Arrest
An 18-year-old from Southampton was arrested by police yesterday evening on suspicion of attempting to incite violence through use of a page on the social networking site, Facebook.
He was taken into custody, held overnight, and released without charge this afternoon after accounting for his actions.
Superintendent Steve France-Sergeant, from Southampton police, said: “We are quite content having spoken with him that his intention was not to cause a riot, but he now fully understands that his promotion of a web page devoted to rioting in Southampton was not only inappropriate but caused real concerns to vulnerable people and businesses within the city.
“This young man now realises now that his actions were highly irresponsible and has written a letter of apology to Southampton city and its residents for causing undue concern.”
His letter
In his letter, the 18-year-old writes:
“My acts on Facebook were stupid and immature, even though I never wanted to start a riot, by creating a page about one I could have incited one. So for that I’m sorry. I know the rioting is a big fear everywhere and didn’t think about the negative side of my poor idea and how people felt. Hopefully the actions taken will make people think twice about trashing their own city and following a bad example.”
