Police have launched a social media campaign on Facebook and Twitter to tackle domestic abuse, stalking and teenage abuse.
The campaign, which is part of Operation Challenge, the force’s fight against violent crime, will see fictitious dating profiles of domestic abusers posted online to show the type of characteristics associated with violent abuse.
Video clips from the Home Office Teenage Relationship Abuse campaign will be posted, along with links to the National Stalking Helpline and to organisations such as Women’s Aid, Victim Support and the Sunflower Centre.
The campaign will start on Thursday.
Detective Chief Inspector Julia Potts, from the Protecting Vulnerable People unit, said: “We’ve got around 27,000 fans on Facebook and around 13,000 followers of our main Twitter account, which doesn’t include those following individual officers and departments.
“That’s a lot of people with whom we can communicate and the potential number of people we can reach is phenomenal if Facebook fans ‘share’ posts with their friends and Twitter followers re-tweet.
“Domestic abuse can, and does, happen to anyone, regardless of age, gender, ethnicity and social status. It’s insidious in nature and many victims don’t even realise that they are in an abusive relationship and accept it as normal.
“We want to make those people - and their friends and family - are aware of what constitutes abusive behaviour so that they can take action before it escalates any further.
“Our aim is also to reassure those victims who are frightened and unsure how to leave the situation they are in that help is out there.”
Northamptonshire Police and Crime Commissioner Adam Simmonds also backed the campaign.
He said: “I am dedicated to reducing violence and ensuring that victims of crime are put first. It is essential that we address domestic abuse effectively and we need people to feel confident in reporting it to do that.”