Politics & Government

Cyberbullying In Dearborn Carries $500 Fine, 3 Months In Jail

Cyberbullies, as defined by the city, can serve up to 93 days in jail and pay a $500 fine for violating the new ordinance.

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The city of Dearborn, Michigan, passed an ordinance that makes cyberbullying a crime. Earlier this year, the state passed a law that could send some violators to prison for 10 years and require them to pay a $10,000 fine.
The city of Dearborn, Michigan, passed an ordinance that makes cyberbullying a crime. Earlier this year, the state passed a law that could send some violators to prison for 10 years and require them to pay a $10,000 fine. (Shutterstock/Patch)

DEARBORN, MI — The city of Dearborn isn't taking cyberbullying lightly. The state of Michigan made cyberbullying a crime earlier this year, and now Dearborn is setting tough penalties — up to 93 days in jail and a $500 fine — for people who violate an ordinance passed by the City Council last month.

The ordinance also more clearly defines online harassment as "posting a message or statement in a public media forum about another person that 'is intended to place a person in fear of harm or death and expresses intent to commit violence against the person.' "

The message must have been posted as a threat, or the poster must know it will be seen as a threat.

Find out what's happening in Dearbornwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Penalties in the new Dearborn law mirror those that could be imposed for a first offense under Michigan's cyberbullying law. Second-time violators of the Michigan law could face up to a year in jail or a maximum fine of $1,000. Repeat offenders could face a 5-year maximum sentence or a $5,000 fine, according to the new state law. And those who have a "continued pattern of harassing or intimidating behavior and by that violation causes the death" could be sentenced to a maximum of 10 years in jail for the felony or a $10,000 fine, the law says.

See more on Patch: Cyberbullying Now Against The Law In Michigan: What To Know

Find out what's happening in Dearbornwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Dearborn city ordinances addressing cyberbullying already include one barring people from sending messages "with obscene language with the intento cause annoyance" and one prohibiting people from "intimidating, harassing or threatening a person over a telecommunications provider."

"The issue with that is the telecommunications service provider requires some type of charge for that service. The expectation is that you have a contract," said Brad Mendelsohn, assistant corporation counsel, according to the release. "It creates a gap in the law because you can use wireless internet that you’re not paying for."

Mendelsohn also said the ordinance "allows local prosecutors to prosecute those claims" instead of requiring county prosecutors to handle them.

Bullying affects about one in three students, and though the online form of bullying is less pervasive, the effects can be more devastating because there's no escape, as there is from physical threats. Kids are connected to their devices 24/7 and social media and texting are intertwined in how they communicate.

Bullying is nothing short of a national conundrum, and cities and schools are looking at various avenues to address it. Dearborn isn't alone in adopting anti-bullying codes. Two Wisconsin communities, working with the local school district, recently passed anti-bullying laws that hold parents accountable if their children repeatedly bully.

Not everyone agrees criminalizing bullying and cyberbullying is a good idea.

Nicholas Carlisle, the founder of Patch news partner NoBully.org, one of the nation's leading anti-bullying advocacy groups, thinks there are more effective ways to combat cyberbullying.

"Punishment generally fails to promote character or skill development in the bully, and often leads to retaliation against the target," Carlisle wrote in a post on Patch after Michigan passed its law. "Beyond this, punitive responses to bullying, such as zero-tolerance policies, security equipment and personnel, disproportionately target students of color, have been found to create harsh school environments that actually cause increases in student aggression, and contribute to a school to prison pipeline."

He said more effective programs "engage the concern for fairness that nearly all youths possess while still holding the perpetrators responsible."

No Bully, for example, pioneered an intervention called Solution Team, which leverages the compassion of the students in the victim's school to take action. That programs brings together the bullying students and prosocial students, and Carlisle says those schools using the program are able to solve 90 percent of the bullying incidents.

The Menace Of Bullies: Patch Advocacy Reporting Project

As part of a national reporting project, Patch has been looking at society's roles and responsibilities in bullying and a child's unthinkable decision to end their own life in hopes we might offer solutions that save lives.

Do you have a story to tell? Are you concerned about how your local schools handle bullies and their victims?

Email us at [email protected] and share your views in the comments.

Selected Stories From The Project

From No Bully, Patch News Partner

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