A motion was introduced today in the King County Council to study the impact of cyberbullying in the area.

The motion calls on the King County Sheriff’s Office to transmit a report on cyberbullying in unincorporated King County. The report will include the annual number and status of investigations that are associated with cyberbullying in unincorporated King County and compare those numbers to national trends.

Council member Reagan Dunn, who introduced the motion, said a study would help the King County Sheriff’s Office find the best ways to prevent it.

The report will also include King County Sheriff Office’s approach toward the investigation and prevention of cyberbullying. The motion directs the Sheriff’s Office to investigate if additional resources for training should be made available to support investigations of cyberbullying in unincorporated King County.

The motion was supported by King County Sheriff Steve Strachan.

“As we progress and become more dependent on internet-based communication, a cyber-bully can target a senior citizen as easily as a young teen,” he said in a press release statement. “We need to better understand the criminal environment and trends in King County.”

Cyberbullying is the use of information and communications technologies to support deliberate, repeated and hostile behavior by an individual or group, that is intended to harm others.

With the growth of social media, the incidents of cyberbullying are becoming a source of concern for law enforcement.

Read more about this legislation on the King County Council’s LEGISEARCH system at http://mkcclegisearch.kingcounty.gov and type in 2012-0365.