Regional police offices fighting cybercrime established in the UK
To improve British police abilities to prevent growing cybercrime, UK authorities established three regional e-crime fighting units in Yorkshire and the Humber, the Northwest and in East Midlands, each having a team of three dedicated police officers.
They will work side by side with the Metropolitan Police Central e-crime Unit. The establishment of regional offices is part of the UK government’s plan to spend 30 million ponds over four years to improve the country’s ability to investigate and diminish cybercrime.
An additional 650 million pounds will be invested in other, more general actions taken to prevent cyberthreats an protect UK citizens and infrastructure from cyberattacks. The biggest chunk of the amount will be allotted to the intelligence agencies, principally Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ).
Each of the three regional units will be staffed by a detective sergeant and two detective constables. The new teams will undergo training of at least a few weeks before they officially start their activity. As the Greater Manchester Police (GMP) and the West Midlands Police from Birmingham have had officers on staff dedicated to cybercrime cases and have worked with private-sector forensic experts and expert witnesses, the regional unit in these area will be easier to setup and open, as they will only give a formal office to an existing cybercrime fighting force.
