E-crime unit to get government funding?

UK government responds to House of Lords call for better policing of the Internet.

The UK government has indicated that it may set up a new national police unit dedicated to tackling computer crime. The hint comes as part of the government's response to a report issued earlier this year by the Science and Technology Committee of the House of Lords, which strongly advised it to take steps to improve the policing of the Internet.

Specifically, the House of Lords report urged the Home Office to provide the necessary funds to kick-start the establishment of the Police Central e-crime Unit (PCeU) - a project driven by members of the Metropolitan Police to create a central coordination point for e-crime reporting. The government responded by saying that it will 'consider the proposals to create a law enforcement unit to tackle crimes involving computers.'

The e-crime unit, run by the Metropolitan Police, would act as a central coordination point for the e-crime divisions of the UK's local police forces, providing training for officers, collating e-crime reports and liaising with the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA). Its remit would cover similar areas to those of the now defunct National High Tech Crime Unit (NHTCU), which was disbanded and absorbed into SOCA in April 2006.

The project has already received financial support from the National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA), but it has yet to be guaranteed central government funding and will need to turn to private sector backers if the government fails to allocate the necessary funds.

The government's response to the House of Lords report can be read in full here.

01 November 2007

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