Regional e-crime units land £30m funding

The government has agreed to provide £30m in funding for regional e-crime units, according to Janet Williams, deputy assistant commissioner of specialist operations within the Metropolitan Police Service and national lead for e-crime.

This funding is part of the additional £650m set aside by the government in October last year when it upgraded cyber crime to a 'tier one threat'.

Speaking to the Guardian, Williams said: "We are very concerned at the extent and growth of cyber crime. It is getting to be an increasingly larger problem. The agencies policing this are bringing all of their skills and capacity to the table. If we don't, it will have a profound effect on share prices, on investment, and on how much the government has to spend on pensions. It is big stuff."

Charlie McMurdie, head of the Police Central e-Crime Unit (PCeU), said: "The additional funding will enable a growth in the PCeU's ability to deliver an operational response, as well as the ability to progress a number of national programmes of work. This will include an improvement in the UK law enforcement forensic response, working with other police forces to develop regional cyber crime capability, mainstreaming training for both frontline officers and dedicated cyber crime detectives, and enhancing strategic and tactical prevention."

The PCeU was unwilling to comment on how its own budget is being affected by the funding increase.