Sharon Lemon, the newly appointed head of the National
Hi-Tech Crime Unit, has set herself the target of making high-tech
crime investigation a part of everyday policing rather than an
activity for a few highly trained police
specialists.
Within the next three years, computer crime training should become
standard for all police recruits and investigating computer crime
should be a routine matter for local police stations, she
said.
Lemon, who will take over responsibility for merging the unit into
the newly formed Serious Organised Crime Agency, plans to drive
through improvements in the way local forces handle and investigate
computer crime.
"I heard one report of a customer who had gone into the local
police station to report a crime on eBay. The officer did not know
what eBay was. It is just not acceptable," she said.
"I am not suggesting every officer should be an expert, but there
should be a clear map for people wanting to report computer crime."
In an interview with Computer Weekly on her second day in the job,
Lemon highlighted her determination to raise the confidence of
businesses in reporting crimes to their local police high-tech
crime units.
By next year, she hopes to oversee the creation of satellite
offices that will act as a resource to local police forces
investigating computer crime.
"Part of my role is setting standards for home forces, providing
good practice and setting up an inspection regime against those
standards. So if a member of the public or a business reports a
high-tech crime, they know they are going to get a minimum standard
of service," she said.
Lemon said her previous experience, which includes head of the
National Crime Squad's Firearms Unit and, more recently, head of
the Paedophile Online Investigation Team, will help her to bring
"traditional policing" values into high-tech crime.
Encouraging software and hardware suppliers to design out computer
crime - a technique used in the motor industry - will be a
priority.
"If you buy a car now you expect a locking device. You expect
anti-theft systems and seat belts. Those traditional designing out
methods can be applied to the high-tech arena," she said.
Raising the public's awareness about computer crime through
government initiatives such as operation Endeavour will create a
demand that will put financial pressure on suppliers to improve
security, Lemon believes.
She is keen to quash suggestions that her arrival from the
paedophile unit signals a change in direction for the unit.
The government's announcement of a new internet agency dedicated to
child abuse is likely to free up more of the unit's resources for
investigations into hacking and fraud, she said.
"I think ID theft is probably the biggest worry. It is absolutely
massive. It makes people feel vulnerable and that is bad for
businesses," she said. "We need to raise standards in the home
forces so they have the trust and confidence of business."