Who thought this was a good idea?
The official Twitter account of the Merseyside Police incurred the wrath of a number of offended followers when they responded to a rape joke after Everton had comprehensively beaten Sunderland 6-2 on Sunday afternoon.
While the dialogue was clearly based in humour, the fact that a police force seemed to discuss something like rape in such a lighthearted manner upset many online.
Nice to see our police force taking the concept of rape seriously here… @MerseyPolice @SuperDeleAlli
— L (@TFTMv4) November 1, 2015
@SuperDeleAlli @MerseyPolice A member of the police force making light of rape isn’t funny mate don’t talk bollocks — Jamie♦️ (@bxstock) November 1, 2015
.@MerseyPolice @SuperDeleAlli yeah, this is exactly what women don’t need from their police force. Joining in the rape bants.
— chiller (@chiller) November 1, 2015
@MerseyPolice @SuperDeleAlli I’m not sure it’s appropriate for a police service to tweet that, it should be deleted. — Tony Schumacher (@tonyshoey) November 1, 2015
@MerseyPolice @JonathanEFC1982 @SuperDeleAlli How incredibly crass from Merseyside Police.
— Stephen Sutton (@dullardcostner) November 1, 2015
.@MerseyPolice Is it appropriate for an official Police Account to be tweeting rape jokes? @SuperDeleAlli — Jammy Dodger (@mrjammyjamjar1) November 1, 2015
@MerseyPolice that is absolutely horrific.
— Graham (@Eagertongue) November 1, 2015
@MerseyPolice @SuperDeleAlli This is not okay. — Jimmy Boo-art (@Hanksingle) November 1, 2015
rape is not a joke @MerseyPolice
— ghostly ooze (@mrreptoid) November 1, 2015
Amazing that @MerseyPolice don’t (seemingly) have designated social media execs/managers — Andrew Chrysostom (@ArticulatePanda) November 1, 2015
@MerseyPolice I can’t quite fathom that you think this is an acceptable thing to joke about.
— Elizabeth Haynes (@Elizjhaynes) November 1, 2015
Hours after the post, an apology came from the Merseyside Police, claiming that a full investigation was imminent.
We would like to apologise for any offence caused by inappropriate tweets from the force account this afternoon. They do not reflect (1/3)
— Merseyside Police (@MerseyPolice) November 1, 2015
the strenuous efforts made by Merseyside Police to investigate serious sexual crimes and protect victims. (2/3)
— Merseyside Police (@MerseyPolice) November 1, 2015
An full investigation has been launched into the inappropriate use of the Merseyside Police Twitter account. (3/3)
— Merseyside Police (@MerseyPolice) November 1, 2015
