Multi-million pound investment for police cyber crime

Every police force in England and Wales now has a dedicated cybercrime unit in place, thanks to an investment to the National Cybercrime Programme.

Run by the National Police Chiefs Council, police forces were able to access £7 million worth of funding this year to build the cyber crime units - including recruiting specialist officers and staff to the units and investing in technology, equipment and training. Investment in the units by the Home Office and the National Cyber Security Programme will continue through 2019/20 and 20/21.

Prior to the roll out of the force units, only 31 per cent of forces had a dedicated cyber capability. Now all forces will have specialist officers and staff in place to investigate cyber crime and ensure victims receive a consistent response and receive contact and prevention advice from police following a report.

Security Minister Ben Wallace said: “While cyber criminals hide behind their screens, their actions have a huge impact on businesses and individuals. Being the victim of a hack can be frightening, embarrassing and costly.

“The new specialist cybercrime teams are a vital tool when it comes to preventing this type of crime, pursuing the perpetrators and protecting victims. Crime is changing and so must we. These cyber units, supported by Home Office funding, are a clear symbol of that shift.”

The Cybercrime Units are also supported by the five-year National Cyber Security Strategy, launched in 2016 and complemented by £1.9 billion of investment.

The investment announcement was made at a launch event held by National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC) Lead for Cybercrime, Chief Constable Peter Goodman.

Goodman said: “I am absolutely delighted to announce this significant step forward in improving the overall response to cybercrime in England and Wales. In the last six years we have introduced a robust national and regional network of dedicated Cybercrime Units at national and regional level but we were still lacking a local response. as part of the Team Cyber UK network.

“Every police force now has a Cybercrime Unit, which will investigate and pursue offenders, help businesses and victims protect themselves from attack and work with partners to prevent vulnerable individuals from being drawn into committing cyber crime. These units will improve our response to cyber crime working closely with national and regional units. This is a great start and lays down a solid foundation for each force to build on.”