Single police unit saves UK economy £140 million

A UNIT of the Metropolitan Police has saved the UK economy more than £140 million in the past six months and is well on course to exceed its four year “harm reduction” target, the force said today.

The central e-crime unit has delivered nearly 30 per cent of its £504m target in this initial period alone, the Metropolitan Police said in a statement.

The figure relates to the amount of money the UK has been prevented from losing through cyber crime and has been achieved following a number of successful prosecutions and operations by the unit.

Funding of £30m has been provided over four years to support the development of the unit as it tackles cyber crime incidents of computer intrusion, denial of service attacks and internet enabled fraud.

Deputy assistant commissioner Janet Williams said: “In the initial six month period the unit, together with its partners in industry and international law enforcement, has excelled in its efforts.

“We hope to be able to better this result in the future as we expand our national capability.”