Barry Sheerman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2015-12-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she has taken to ensure that the police are adequately trained to tackle online criminal activity involving young people.

Mike Penning

The last Parliament invested £860 million over five years through the National Cyber Security Programme (NCSP) to increase the cyber security of the UK. The Chancellor also announced on 17 November that we plan to almost double investment in cyber security, including cyber crime, to £1.9 billion over the next five years. This will enable us to continue to invest in training at the national, regional and local levels. NCSP funding is being used to deliver specific training for officers in the National Cyber Crime Unit within the National Crime Agency (NCA), cyber teams within each of the Regional Organised Crime Units and local police officers and staff to increase their capabilities to tackle this issue.

For example, the second Phase of the Mainstream Cyber Crime Training course was launched on 30 September 2015 by College of Policing to police officers and staff on cyber, digital and social media issues. The College and police forces also deliver a classroom-based course to police investigators, which includes bespoke modules on how young and vulnerable people become victims of cyber and digital crime online and what police can do to help, including preventing them from becoming victims.

The National Cyber Crime Unit in the National Crime Agency has also recently launched a communications campaign to deter young people, particularly young males aged 12-15 with an interest in computer gaming, from becoming involved in cyber criminality. The campaign, launched on 8 December, is aimed at parents, teachers and young people to educate them about the risks of becoming involved, and the career opportunities for those with cyber skills.