Cops "don't know one end of computer from the other"
Can find criminals, can't find the any key?
Published: 24 February 2009 16:11 GMT by Nick Heath
Show related articlesMost cops are baffled by technology, the architect of the UK's new e-crime fighting force, Police Central e-Crime Unit (PCeU) has revealed.
The lack of IT nous among cops is a problem the PCeU is aiming to tackle, according to the head of the unit, detective superintendent Charlie McMurdie.
Speaking at the ISPA Parliamentary Advisory Forum on E-Crime yesterday, she said: "We have got 140,000 cops and most of them don't know one end of the computer from the other, other than the PC they use on a day-to-day basis. They need to have some specialist training around crime prevention.
"We need to increase our capability in a sensible manner so that you know that you will get the same response wherever you go in the country."
Helping to train UK police in preventing and investigating e-crime will be an important focus for the PCeU, McMurdie noted.
The issue of how to better train police in handling cybercrime - as well as developing a crime breathalyser for PCs to detect illegal activity on a machine - are just two of a number of projects currently being examined by the PCeU and the Association of Chief Police Officers Forum.
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