Force apologises as Twitter faux pas rape joke` culprit leaves
A police staff member who exchanged jokes about rape in a posting on a forces official Twitter account has left by mutual consent after an inquiry.
A police staff member who exchanged jokes about rape in a posting on a forces official Twitter account has left by mutual consent after an inquiry.
The two tweets on the Merseyside Police account were in response to apparently humorous remarks by football fans on Sunday afternoon.
One made light of Sunderlands heavy defeat at Everton, while the other referred to Chelseas worst start to a Premier League season.
Both were later deleted and the force apologised for inappropriate messages in a series of tweets posted afterwards.
On Sunday afternoon, following Sunderlands 6-2 defeat to Everton, one Twitter user sent a tweet to the account which said: Hello. Id like to report an incident of rape that occurred at Goodison Park, Liverpool, on November 1st at 3:00.
And the force account responded: Just confirm there was no actual rape for me? Sunderland certainly got caught with their pants down though.
Moments later a Chelsea fan tweeted: Id like to report an incident that has been going on for ages. Chelsea get raped every match. Can you help?
Afraid not, the account replied. It is not a criminal offence to lose week in, week out.
Temporary Assistant Chief Constable Rob Carden said: We would like to sincerely apologise for the offensive and inappropriate tweet sent from the Merseyside force account this afternoon (Sunday, November 1).
The comments made do not reflect the strenuous efforts made by Merseyside Police to investigate serious sexual crimes and protect victims.
“Merseyside Police takes every report of sexual offences extremely seriously and has dedicated officers within the force`s Unity Team who are specially trained to both thoroughly investigate allegations and make sure that those reporting them are properly supported.
The force, which launched an investigation into the tweets, confirmed the person who sent the message had left the organisation by mutual consent.
According to the Liverpool Echo, the person a member of police staff had been due to depart the force soon in any event.