Training modules/Dealing with online harassment/slides/closing-non-actionable-reports

Closing cases: Closing non-actionable reports

Even in a case where you and your team take no action, there are some steps you will need to carry out as you close a case.

First, you will need to notify the target of the outcome of your investigation. Remember to communicate with empathy and to offer the target further resources for help if such resources exist. You may wish to provide some detail about why the case was deemed non-actionable, but do not become over-detailed: it is rarely a good idea to go into detail about whether you, personally, believed their report or whether a particular piece of evidence was found lacking.

After this, you may need to notify the subject of the report. Whether this is necessary will depend on the situation: was the report obviously mistaken, and you closed it at a glance without needing to do a full investigation? In that case, the subject of the report may not know a complaint was even filed, and will be surprised to hear from you. On the other hand, did you do a full investigation, including speaking to the subject and/or witnesses about the existence of the case? In that case, you owe it to the subject to let them know that the case is closed and what the outcome is.