Labour Pledges Cyber Crime Crackdown

The Labour Party would press ahead with changes to cyber crime law and policing of online identity theft if it was voted into government in 2015.

So said shadow home secretary, Yvette Cooper, who pledged at her party’s conference this week to write fresh legislation that would include a specific identity theft crime. Most cyber crime in the UK is currently prosecuted under fraud or computer misuse law.

Labour plans

A Police First programme would also “get the brightest IT graduates into policing”, whilst Labour would work alongside a former chief constable and consumer watchdog Which? to create an organisation to tackle online fraud, modelled on the successful Internet Watch Foundation .

“In the face of 21st Century crime, what we need is leadership,” she said. “If the Tories won’t provide it, we will.

“Fraud is up thirty percent – but that’s the tip of the iceberg.

“Because most online crime – like credit card and identity fraud – goes unreported.”

Cooper said sex and relationship education should also include lessons on the Internet. “Nor has the government faced up to the 21st century pressures on our children,” she added.

“Not just the need for more action against online child abuse. But also to tackle the growing exposure of teenagers to violent pornographic images. And the growing violence in teenage relationships.”

The Coalition has faced criticism for its handling of pornography, as it decided a default filter should be implemented across ISPs, rather than letting parents decide.

As for cyber crime, a TechWeekEurope report from last year highlighted patchy policing across the country.

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