British e-crime police need more funding, says Met Police chief

Sir Paul Stephenson, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, has described how ‘traditional’ organised crime in Britain is “waking up to the profits and uses of e-crime” and that the authorities need to be properly funded to respond.

Writing in the Sunday Telegraph, Sir Paul explained that although the Police Central e-Crime Unit (PCeU) cost £2.75 million last year, it has been estimated that for every £1 spent, it prevented £21 in harm from potential theft.

Sir Paul goes on to say that a lot of the work done by the PCeU is unseen, and that some commentators argue that more resources should be put behind on-the-beat uniformed bobbies, leaving the specialist work done by the PCeU to industry, banks and retailers.

“If British crime gangs take up e-crime as enthusiastically as we fear, we must match the skills at…

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Graham Cluley •   @gcluley

Graham Cluley is a veteran of the anti-virus industry having worked for a number of security companies since the early 1990s when he wrote the first ever version of Dr Solomon's Anti-Virus Toolkit for Windows. Now an independent security analyst, he regularly makes media appearances and is an international public speaker on the topic of computer security, hackers, and online privacy. Follow him on Twitter at @gcluley, on Mastodon at @[email protected], or drop him an email.