24 Oct 2019
Commissioner Responds to HMICFRS Probe in to Police Response to Cyber Crime
In response to the report from HMICFRS, Cyber: Keep the light on - An inspection of the police response to cyber-dependent crime, Police and Crime Commissioner Dafydd Llywelyn said:
“Improved connectivity can benefit rural communities greatly but this does not come without risks. There is a growing trend of criminals taking advantage of the trusting nature of people, which has been made easier through the internet.
“This is why I made dealing with cyber-dependent crime an explicit priority within my Police and Crime Plan, and have continually invested in raising public awareness and increasing the force’s capacity in this area during my term in office.
“It is a crime affecting people from all communities, and at my annual conference in March, I focussed on fraud and cyber-crime with the aim of raising awareness of the scale of the threat posed, detailing the numbers and types of people affected, and critically, understanding what preventative measures can be put in place to safeguard people.
“From 2017-2020, I am providing funding to deliver the KiVA project, aimed at raising awareness of bullying and cyber bullying in primary and secondary schools in Pembrokeshire, and have this year boosted the funding for the Digital and Cyber Crime Unit by £53,000 – money generated by the driver re-raining scheme and proceeds of crime – to expedite the process of mobile phone analysis to assist the force and bring offenders to justice more swiftly.
“I have also funded two specialist investigators to deal with both cyber-dependant and cyber-enabled crime, and a role specifically working to protect, and engage with, our communities and businesses.
“I am committed to continuing to support this area, which is demonstrated by my recent decision to maintain funding these specialist posts.”
For information about protection against fraud and cyber crime, visit: https://www.actionfraud.police.uk/
