Regional cyber-crime units created

Specific police cyber crime teams were created in Yorkshire and the Humber, the Northwest and East Midlands.

Working alongside the Metropolitan Police Centre e-crime Unit and the Association of Chief Cops (ACPO), the hot centres will encompass three members of staff: a detective sergeant and two detective constables.

With £30m of funding, Janet Williams, deputy assistant commissioner of the Metropolitan Police and ACPO lead on e-crime, said she anticipated that the units will make an important contribution to the 'national harm reduction target' of £504m.

She said: “The Government has acknowledged a necessity to collaborate and supply a structured response to the cyber security of the united kingdom and these three additional policing units are going to play a critical role in our ability to combat the threat.

“While a coaching period is needed before the hubs are fully functional they are going to undoubtedly provide an enhanced ability to enquire this fast-growing area of crime and supply a stronger internet investigation capability.”

The recent House of Commons Science and Technology Committee's report called for an improvement in police officers' knowledge of cyber crime because it claimed that "there is not any single first point of recommendation and help for the buyer".

Launched last November, the Cyber Security Strategy aimed to create a cyber crime unit, in the National Crime Agency, so we can build at the Metropolitan Police's eCrime Unit and provides police forces around the country the required skills and experience.

Raj Samani, EMEA CTO of McAfee, said: “This additional police specialize in cyber crime reflects the dimensions of the difficulty. Despite improved security and international crackdown efforts, cyber crime has thrived because the Millennium, growing by double digits year after year.

“While it's great to work out this commitment from the police, we even have to recover at protecting our personal information if we wish to slow cyber criminals' success. Technology can only take us thus far: the remaining is education and vigilance at the portion of computer users.”

James Brokenshire, minister for crime and security on the Home Office, said: “As well as leading the fight of their regions, these units mark an important breakthrough in developing a countrywide response to cyber crime, that can be driven by the hot National Crime Agency. The govt. has committed £650m to the fight against e-crime.”