Police software delays cyber crime reports

THOUSANDS of reports of cyber crime were quarantined on a police database instead of being investigated because software meant to protect computer systems branded them a “security risk”.

The backlog stretched to around 9,000 reports of cyber crime and fraud at one point, with some of the cases dating back to October last year.

The reports had been made to Action Fraud and handed to the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB), run by the City of London Police. They were added to a database called Know Fraud, where reports are processed.

The problem was revealed by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services, the police watchdog, during an investigation into how forces respond to cyber-dependent crime – offences that cannot be carried out without a computer.

Matt Parr, the inspector of constabulary, said: “They have got a backlog of crimes that they have been unable to pass out due to software problems.”

In April, around 9,000 reports were affected but this had reduced to about 6,500 by July, the watchdog was told.

The report also revealed most cyber crime cases are closed with no further action being taken. Between 2015 and 2019, between 51-62 per cent of cases were classed as “investigation completed – no suspect identified.”

“One of the least likely outcomes nationally is for offenders to be charged or summonsed,” it added.

Between April and June, about 40 per cent of calls made to Action Fraud were hung up before they were answered, equating to 20,000 calls being abandoned each month.

In March last year, the average waiting time for a call to Action Fraud to be answered was 16 minutes.

Mr Parr said it was a “huge underreported crime” that was costing the Government £1.1billion a year. There were 25,000 reports of cyber-dependent crime in 2017-18 and 656,000 IP addresses were known to have been affected, but the problem is thought to be far greater.

There were “huge inconsistencies” across the 43 police forces in England and Wales and funding was “erratic”, Mr Parr said. “The basic failing is that there’s no national system,” he added.

The report recommended a “central coordinating agency”, which would decide whether crimes should be investigated by local police forces or a national agency and ensure officers are trained “to the right standards”.