According to an editorial comment in a recent issue of Computing (12 October): ‘It is time to remove the technological mystique. E-crime is simply crime, and should be treated as such.’ I could not agree more.

It is somewhat surprising, then, that I still hear laments over the apparent demise of the National Hi-Tech Crime Unit (NHTCU), since it became part of the Serious Organised Crime Agency (Soca). Surely such a measure to treat e-crime as a mainstream issue should be welcomed.

Let us start by clearing up some of the misconceptions. NHTCU was a specialist division of the National Crime Squad (NCS) and nobody denies the unit achieved many laudable successes.

However, over recent years the government recognised that more and better co-ordinated work would be needed by UK law enforcement to properly address the impact of organised crime, including serious and organised e-crime, in the 21st Century.

This is why Soca was created in April last year, bringing together the National Criminal Intelligence Service, NCS (including NHTCU), part of HM Revenue and Customs and part of the Immigration Service.

Soca has been established to reduce the harm caused by serious organised crime to the UK: damage caused to the UK and its communities, directly and indirectly.

Such damage is hard to quantify. But it is felt in many ways, including socially, environmentally, economically, and systemically. And individuals involved in serious organised crime take care to disguise their activities and are adept at doing so.

To be successful in reducing the harm caused by serious organised crime, it is essential that efforts to combat it are well-directed – and this requires a significant improvement in understanding of the threats and of those responsible for them.

Does this requirement mean the expertise of NHTCU has disappeared or that the focus on e-crime has been diluted? Completely the opposite, in fact. We take e-crime seriously and the NHTCU has been reborn as a dedicated unit within Soca.

What is different is that our e-Crime Unit has more people, more resources and a bigger budget than its predecessor. The unit brings together experts from across the pre-cursor agencies, working under one roof, to establish and implement new and innovative ways to combat the criminal use of the internet within the cyber world.

The statement ‘e-crime is simply crime’ is precisely why Soca’s e-Crime Unit is integrated into the wider organisation.

When people talk about cyber crime, they usually think of offences where computers, networks or the data stored within them are specifically targeted and exploited by an organised crime enterprise; the design, sale and use of the tools and techniques needed to mount such attacks; or where anonymous virtual payment systems are used to launder the proceeds of crime.

Soca’s e-Crime Unit continues to be pro-active in working with their national and international partners to combat threats. However, people need to recognise that IT is not just used by specialised offenders to commit crime, but also by organised criminals engaged in conventional offences, such as drugs or people trafficking.

Soca e-Crime, therefore, has a wider remit than its predecessor as it provides the rest of Soca with the specialist knowledge and techniques needed to fight today’s organised criminal enterprises.

And while Soca might talk less about what we do in the media this does not mean we are taking less action. We are continuing much of the good work from NHTCU, together with new projects and operations.

For instance the head of Soca e-Crime, Sharon Lemon, and her team have worked hard to develop dialogue and relationships with industry and academia that have not always been used to the best effect.

We are improving our liaison with the private sector and this should lead to the establishment of new channels of advice, such as joint education programmes, for business and public alike.

Another key area of work for Soca is the development of a national strategy. A National e-Crime Strategy Group has been formed, bringing together senior management from law enforcement agencies, government and security services.

The work of the group and the strategy itself aims to result in a more co-ordinated approach to tackling e-crime with greater efficiency by partnership and less duplication by related law enforcement agencies.

While there have been notable successes against organised crime, more needs to be done to make the UK a difficult place for organised criminals, hi-tech or otherwise, to conduct their illegal ventures and to reduce the harm they cause to the whole of our society.

Bill Hughes is director general of the Serious Organised Crime Agency (Soca)