This is Leicestershire -- Leicester MP Keith Vaz has warned that Britain is losing the war against criminals who operate on the internet. Mr Vaz urged the Government to help police and other law enforcement agencies tackle online threats such as fraud, the trade in child abuse images and political radicalisation of young people. The Leicester East MP is chairman of the Parliamentary Home Affairs Select Committee which today published the results of its 10 month investigation into e-crime. Mr Vaz said: "We are not winning the war on online criminal activity. We are being too complacent about these E-wars because the victims are hidden in cyberspace. "You can steal more on the internet than you can by robbing a bank and online criminals in 25 countries have chosen the UK as their number one target. "If we don't have a 21st century response to this 21st century crime, we will be letting those involved in these gangs off the hook. "The tragic murders of April Jones and Tia Sharp have shown the terrible consequences of access to indecent images on the web. "Young people are increasingly radicalised online by the words of radical clerics. "What starts on the web, ends up on the streets of Woolwich." The Association of Chief Police Officers, (Acpo), said it was helping forces across the country to deal with new threats. Deputy Chief Constable Peter Goodman, who speaks for Acpo on e-crime, said: "The police service, like the other agencies that are working to combat e-crime, is continually adapting to meet the threat. "There is absolutely more to do but we are committed to protecting victims and preventing this form of crime as well as targeting offenders." A number of regional units of specialist anti-fraud officers will also help bring more criminals to justice, he added. A Home Office spokesperson said: "Crime is at record low levels and this government is taking action to tackle the cyber threat, investing more than £850 million through the national cyber security programme to develop and maintain cutting-edge capabilities. "The National Crime Agency will include a new elite National Cyber Crime unit to target the most serious offenders and provide enhanced intelligence for Child Exploitation Online Protection Centre so they can protect even more children from harm. "But we know we need to keep pace with criminals as they target the web and so we continue to consider ways to ensure the police and security services have access to communications data."
Reported by This is 3 days ago.
This is Leicestershire -- Leicester MP Keith Vaz has warned that Britain is losing the war against criminals who operate on the internet. Mr Vaz urged the Government to help police and other law enforcement agencies tackle online threats such as fraud, the trade in child abuse images and political radicalisation of young people. The Leicester East MP is chairman of the Parliamentary Home Affairs Select Committee which today published the results of its 10 month investigation into e-crime. Mr Vaz said: "We are not winning the war on online criminal activity. We are being too complacent about these E-wars because the victims are hidden in cyberspace. "You can steal more on the internet than you can by robbing a bank and online criminals in 25 countries have chosen the UK as their number one target. "If we don't have a 21st century response to this 21st century crime, we will be letting those involved in these gangs off the hook. "The tragic murders of April Jones and Tia Sharp have shown the terrible consequences of access to indecent images on the web. "Young people are increasingly radicalised online by the words of radical clerics. "What starts on the web, ends up on the streets of Woolwich." The Association of Chief Police Officers, (Acpo), said it was helping forces across the country to deal with new threats. Deputy Chief Constable Peter Goodman, who speaks for Acpo on e-crime, said: "The police service, like the other agencies that are working to combat e-crime, is continually adapting to meet the threat. "There is absolutely more to do but we are committed to protecting victims and preventing this form of crime as well as targeting offenders." A number of regional units of specialist anti-fraud officers will also help bring more criminals to justice, he added. A Home Office spokesperson said: "Crime is at record low levels and this government is taking action to tackle the cyber threat, investing more than £850 million through the national cyber security programme to develop and maintain cutting-edge capabilities. "The National Crime Agency will include a new elite National Cyber Crime unit to target the most serious offenders and provide enhanced intelligence for Child Exploitation Online Protection Centre so they can protect even more children from harm. "But we know we need to keep pace with criminals as they target the web and so we continue to consider ways to ensure the police and security services have access to communications data."
Reported by This is 3 days ago.