Soca e-crime team secures 22 arrests in three years

Unit has wider crime-prevention role, says home secretary

Home secretary Alan Johnson

Since its inception, the Serious Organised Crime Agency's (Soca's) e-crime unit has been involved in 22 arrests, 21 of which have resulted in prosecutions, according to home secretary Alan Johnson.

The team was created in April 2006 after the National Hi-Tech Crime Unit (NHTCU) was disbanded and formed part of the newly created Soca.

The unit scored a high-profile victory after helping with the prosecution of the Sumitomo Mitsui attempted bank theft earlier this year.

But some officers who have been close to the unit have claimed that many prosecutions secured by Soca were actually the work of the NHTCU – including the Sumitomo Mitsui perpetrators.

However, Johnson said this week, in response to a parliamentary question, that prosecution was not the only aim of the unit, which also provides long-term solutions for harm reduction on the internet.

"Resources are directed also to the development of new intervention techniques, to disrupt and deny criminal opportunities worldwide and to work with international partners," he said.

"Similarly these techniques include work with internet protocol registrars and others involved in regulating the internet and the influencing of future legislation."