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New Canaan Police: Investigations into Anonymous Cyberbullying on the Rise

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New Canaan police actively are investigating one case of cyberbullying each at Saxe Middle School and New Canaan High School, and kids found to have perpetrated crimes using social media may face charges that range from harassment to disseminating child pornography, according to the police chief. Though he could not comment specifically on the active investigations, Police Chief Leon Krolikowski said the department receives a handful of complaints each year from families where kids are the victims of cyberbullying, and that the incidence of those cases is on the rise. “We are seeing an increase with the anonymous cyberbullying, with apps like Streetchat and Yik Yak, which allow kids to anonymously bully each other, and they may be a little bit more intolerant and aggressive in some respects,” Krolikowski told NewCanaanite.com. “Any time we see threats and references to weapons, we are pretty aggressive in trying to uncover who is responsible.”

The comments come as the community, including the school district, grapple with the continuous emergence of free, downloadable, and anonymous social media applications used by tweens and teens. Yik Yak, which is text-based, has given way this academic year to Streetchat, which allows users to upload photos, post comments and vote submissions up or down.

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‘Streetchat’: New Canaan High School Students’ (Newest) App for Cyberbullying

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Just as New Canaan High School administrators renew a “geo fence” that prevents the use on campus of Yik Yak—a smartphone app that some students last year used to post derogatory and often graphic comments about others, anonymously—a new mobile platform has emerged that offers all of that plus photos. So many NCHS students have been using “Streetchat” this week to attack classmates, administrators and parents—all against the company’s own terms, their identities in no way protected should law enforcement seek to investigate— that the company late Monday issued this statement through the app itself:

“New Canaan High School, at this rate, Streetchat’s going to be prohibited at your school shortly. Here’s a few ways to make sure Streetchat doesn’t get blocked at your school. Do NOT insult faculty and staff. Do NOT target each other personally.