Following news that Hampshire Special Constables and volunteers will be used to fight Cyber Crime, John Apter, Chairman of the Hampshire Police Federation responds.
He believes this is “nothing more than policing on the cheap” and says real investment is what’s needed.
John Apter said,
“Cyber crime has been increasing significantly over the past number of years. The Home Office and policing have been slow to react to this meaning police forces have not been prepared to respond effectively.
“To combat a technical and advanced type of crime such as this requires investment, and lots of it. The Home Office accepts that cyber crime is increasing, their response to this is to get well meaning volunteers to combat it for us. This not only undermines the seriousness of the problem but could also takes advantage of our volunteers. This is nothing more than policing on the cheap.
“Policing requires investment to deal with this problem, not asking volunteers with an IT background to do it as a favour.
“I accept that for such technical jobs we may need to look outside of policing to find the IT skills required to fight this epidemic. This takes forward planning and additional funding which is something the Government has failed to deliver on both counts. This is why we are now having to play catch up.”
