UK cannot afford high-tech crime unit
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Home Office unable to spare £1.3 million seed capital for online police force
The UK Home Office cannot find the £1.3 million required to set a police force dedicated to fighting electronic crime, minister Vernon Coaker has admitted.
The proposed national e-crime unit was to be jointly funded by the government and the private sector. The Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) has been pressing the government to provide £1.3 million of seed capital to give businesses the confidence to invest further in the dedicated police unit.
The news shortly follows Gordon Brown’s announcement that cyber-terrorism now ranks among the key threats facing the UK's national security. In his inaugural National Security Strategy, Brown pledged to invest further in the country’s defence mechanisms against online threats.
Coaker’s announcement has angered industry bodies, many of whom have been calling for the establishment of a specialised police ever since the National High Tech Crime Unit (NHTCU) was amalgamated into the Serious Organised Crime Unit (SOCA) in 2006.
"It is beyond belief that the Home Office should accord such a low priority to sorting out a sensible structure for the reporting and investigation of e-crime,” the
Further reading
E-crime: does the government care?
Brown outlines cyber defence strategy
Only one in ten trusts government data handling
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