Recently published crime figures for 2011 covering an area of the United Kingdom, show that over ninety murders originated from contacts made on social media internet sites. The figure approaches twenty percent of the total number of murders in that area of the United Kingdom in the year 2011. The number of prosecutions for violent assault and rape with the same original signature have not been made public but have been estimated by informed sources to run into the thousands. It would seem obvious that there is a significant problem, so it can only be a matter of time before advanced countries in North America and Europe pool data from existing crime figures to provide the general public with an accurate assessment of the potential for a chance meeting with a violent predatory person when using social media internet sites. The major concern must be for people in less sophisticated locations were meaningful and legitimate crime figures are almost impossible to source, and are rarely published. Like many countries in Africa.
Several missing person stories have been investigated by journalists on the ground in West Africa in the last two years. The detail contained in these stories revealed that internet social media has become an extremely important tool for people looking for local romantic liaisons which are hidden from their family and close friends. In all the stories investigated, a West African female operated several separate Facebook accounts, each one serving a different purpose. The females are still missing without trace.
South Africa is one country in Africa that publishes crime figures. Murders in this country are currently averaging forty three per day. Documents leaked this month by staff working for mobile phone companies in Africa show that accessing social media internet sites from mobile phones by South African customers is now a close second in popularity to sending text messages.