19th April 2005 - What Does the National Hi-Tech Crime Unit Do?

Howard Lamb, Crime Reduction Coordinator, NHTCU & Damian Walton, Metropolitan Police

Hi-tech crime has become a rapidly growing concern for the crime fighters in recent years. Computers and the internet provide great benefits to society, but knowledgable criminals can exploit these technological tools as an aid to commit crimes. To counteract this kind of crime the National Hi-Tech Crime Unit (NHTCU) was developed within the National Crime Squad.

The NHTCU works to combat national and transnational serious and organised hi-tech crime both within, or which impacts upon, the UK. It's the first national law enforcement organisation of its kind to tackle a specific area of crime. Crimes targeted include software piracy, hacking and virus attacks, fraud, blackmail and extortion, on-line paedophilia, and identity theft.

www.nhtcu.org