Cyber crime detectives get base in region

A specialist e-crime unit, designed to combat a growing threat from hackers, will be based in the region after chief officers secured Government funding.

The £30m deal, which will also see hubs created in the North West and the East Midlands, is to be announced today at the Association of Chief Police Officers’ e-crime conference in Sheffield.

The new hubs, each manned by three detectives, will work alongside an existing e-crime unit run by the Metropolitan Police. Security officials consider cyber crime to be as large a threat as international terrorism, a military crisis or a major accident or natural hazard requiring a national response.

Yorkshire’s regional policing head, Deputy Chief Constable Mark Whyman, said: “By using our local expertise to tackle what is a rapidly growing crime problem for our communities and the economy, we can yet again place our region at the forefront of policing developments.”

Home Office Minister James Brokenshire said: “Cyber crime is a threat locally and nationally, and every police force in the country has to deal with its impact on people and businesses in their area.”