Chi Onwurah – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2015-12-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the position of cyber crime in the published lists of priorities of Police and Crime Commissioners.

Mike Penning

Decisions about setting police priorities are rightly a matter for individual Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs), tailored to the needs of the local community, and for Chief Constables to determine the most appropriate response in their areas.

PCCs set the strategic direction and objectives of the force through the Police and Crime Plan which must have regard to the Strategic Policing Requirement (SPR) set by the Home Secretary.

The SPR, published in March 2015, sets out the national threats and the appropriate national policing capabilities required to counter those threats. It quotes cyber crime as a National Security Strategy Tier One risk. Section 5 of the SPR, on capability, sets out what the police will need to be doing in order to achieve various outcomes. It specifically states the capabilities needed to conduct complex investigations, including cyber crime, that require specialist resources, including the capability to do so across boundaries.

Cyber Security, including combating cyber crime, is a top priority threat to national security. That is why, through the National Cyber Security Programme, we have invested over £90 million over the last five years to bolster the law enforcement response. As the Chancellor announced on 17 November, we plan to almost double investment in cyber security, including cyber crime, to £1.9 billion over the next five years.