National e-crime unit takes tentative first steps

The unit may introduce legal protocols to ensure it remains independent

The creation of a national e-crime co-ordination unit is getting underway following financial support from the National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA).

But without continued central government funding the scheme will have to rely on private sector contributions, and may take longer to get up and running.

The 45-strong team will be run by London’s Metropolitan Police and will take on some of the functions of the National Hi-tech Crime Unit, which was absorbed by the Serious Organised Crime Agency (Soca) in April last year.

The unit, first proposed last October, will co-ordinate all 43 local forces’ e-crime divisions, and will liaise with Soca and relevant Welsh and Scottish agencies.

Sue Wilkinson, e-crime lead at the Association of Chief Police Officers and chief architect of the new scheme, says NPIA funding is a milestone in setting up the unit.

‘We have enough money to get the programme management in place and have secured all the political agreements,’ she said.

Early priorities will be to improve basic e-crime training for officers and create a comprehensive e-crime reporting web site.

Financial support from the cash-strapped Home Office is not guaranteed. But the scheme already has private sector backers to draw on, says Wilkinson. ‘It will be from a mixture of business, financial services firms and ISPs,’ she said.

Careful balancing of commercial sponsor interest and clear legal protocols will ensure the unit’s policing agenda remains independent, says Wilkinson.

But government funding is preferable, says Peter Sommer, e-crime expert at the London School of Economics.

‘However legally independent a unit is, pressure can be applied in subtle ways and there is always some feeling of obligation,’ he said.