Police ‘face huge task’ with rise in digital evidence

THE ENORMOUS volume of digital data involved in criminal cases could overwhelm police technology units, a report has found.

Fraud and computer misuse now make up 44 per cent of crime in England and Wales, the Police Foundation said, and the number of images of child abuse posted online is growing.

Part one of its Strategic Review of Policing in England and Wales, which was published yesterday, said computer misuse made up nine per cent of crimes against households in 2019, while fraud, much of which is cyber-enabled, made up 35.5 per cent.

The report highlighted the sheer volumes of data linked to criminal inquiries and stated that they could “potentially overwhelm already stretched police units” which are responsible for extracting evidence from digital devices.

Earlier this year, figures showed that thousands of digital devices were awaiting analysis by police, and the backlog had remained the same size for a year.

However, speaking yesterday during an online launch of the report, National Police Chiefs’ Council chairman Martin Hewitt said: “I don’t see all of this as a kind of counsel of despair in any sense whatsoever.

“I’m sure some people will look at this and say ‘This means the police can’t cope, they are not capable of doing this.’

“There is much that we do, I

think, very effectively, and there is much that we do very well.”

But the police must “adapt”, he said, adding: “We have got to transform to meet the public safety challenges that all of us face in the 21st century and we cannot stay doing what we are doing now.”

Mr Hewitt stressed other organisations must also play their part, and added the report is written “on the back of a decade of austerity” and at present the police service does not “square the equation” between demand and resources.

Describing forces as increasingly becoming the service of first, rather than last, resort, he said: “And whilst the 20,000 additional officers is fantastic and is a great relief for the service, it doesn’t go close to dealing with all the issues that I think the report highlights that we need to deal with as we go forward.”

The report also said that the number of protests that police have to deal with has risen over the last decade from 83 in 2007 to 280 in 2019, with the number of these involving confrontational tactics rising from seven in 2000 to 126 in 2019.

In terms of public safety, officers are dealing more with people who need safeguarding, for example those with mental health issues.

The number of incidents dealt with by police involving mental health rose by 28 per cent between 2014 and 2018, and incidents involving missing people rose by 46 per cent between 2013/14 and 2016/17, the report found.

A second phase of the strategic review of policing in England and Wales will be carried out in the coming months, before a final report is expected to be published in the summer of next year.

I don’t see this as a kind of counsel of despair in any sense whatsoever. National Police Chiefs’ Council chairman Martin Hewitt.