§ Lord Ormeasked Her Majesty's Government:
What resources are available to the police in England and Wales to tackle hi-tech crime. [HL4620]
§ Lord Bassam of BrightonThe Government are committed to action against hi-tech crime in line with our twin objectives of making the United Kingdom the best and safest place in the world to conduct and engage in e-commerce.
My right honourable friend the Home Secretary is making £25 million available to the police in England and Wales over the next three years to initiate the implementation of a national hi-tech crime strategy to enhance the capability of law enforcement more effectively to investigate crime where new technology is used.
The funding being made available will give impetus to the process of developing the skills within the police to undertake computer network investigations and forensic examination of computer systems. These are skills that are becoming necessary as criminals identify opportunities to use and misuse information and communications technology. It is important to ensure that the police have the proper skills and equipment to support them in this new activity.
With those skills the police will, at the local level, be able to deliver improved service to the public to investigate reports of computer-related crime and to recover and analyse computer based evidence. The crimes concerned cover a wide spectrum from hacking and financial fraud to obscenity and the unlawful activities of paedophiles. The work of local units will be complemented by a multi-agency national hi-tech crime unit that will begin operation in April 2001. The national unit that will provide advice and support to local units, and to other law enforcement agencies across the United Kingdom, and deal with the most serious and organised hi-tech crime offences, including those which have a transnational impact.
The Government's commitment to support the development of the capability of law enforcement was made by my right honourable friend the Prime Minister when he endorsed the Cabinet Office Performance and Innovation Unit report e-commerce@its.best.uk last summer. That report recommended that the Government improve the technical capability of law enforcement to investigate Internet crime and establish an internet crime unit.
On 11 September, the Prime Minister published the UKOnline Annual Report. The establishment of a national hi-tech crime unit was identified as a specific action, part of the Government's commitment to work 23WA with industry to ensure a safe and secure environment for e-commerce and to help people trust the Internet.
I am pleased that, with the support of the Association of Chief Police Officers, the National Criminal Intelligence Service and the National Crime Squad, we are able to make progress towards ensuring that the police both locally and nationally are better trained and equipped to deal with hi-tech crime.