2 Criminal use of technology

The use of increasingly sophisticated technology by criminals generates wholly new forms of crime, unknown in prior decades, to which the police need to respond. One recent example of this is the phenomenon of ‘ransomware’ attacks, whereby malicious code is inserted into an organisation’s computer network to encrypt sensitive data until a ransom is paid.

There have been a number of high-profile ransomware attacks by international criminal groups on major UK organisations, including public bodies such as the National Health Service, Transport for London and The British Library. The 2023 attack on the British Library, for example, bought this national institution virtually to a standstill for several months. The group responsible – Rhysida – also attacked schools in the north of England.

Figure 3: Cybercriminals, operating internationally and anonymously, are hard to identify [Description: Photograph taken from a mobile phone to notify the user that their system has been hacked. The words ‘Hacked’ are written in bold white along with binary codes in red. There is a sinister mask of a smiling face against a background of images of networks and codes.] Source: https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/news-photo/hacked-displayed-on-a-mobile-with-binary-code-with-in-the-news-photo/1587608738?adppopup=true

The development of cybercrimes such as ransomware attacks, which are often international, has challenged the structures of UK policing, which has traditionally been regionalised. One response has been the creation of specialised, cross-border, cross-organisational services, including the Police Digital Service (PDS); the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) and the National Crime Agency’s Cyber Crime Unit.

Criminal use of technology does not always mean wholly new crimes, however. Sometimes, criminals use technology to commit old crimes in new ways. A good example here is the English riots of 2024. This was the largest outbreak of civil unrest and rioting since 2011 and took place following the murders of three young girls in Stockport. Public emotion following the original, shocking murders was amplified and misdirected via inflammatory statements made online, spreading much quicker than it would have done in print or verbally. Many of those intent on violence organised this via encrypted social media channels, particularly the Telegram app, which has increasingly offered an unmoderated platform to the far-right.

Figure 4: Spectators film a burning police vehicle during the 2024 English riots [Description: A photograph showing a burning police van in a street. In the foreground a group of people stand and watch, one is on his mobile phone and the screen shows his face and that he is filming the incident.] Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2024_United_Kingdom_riots

The crimes of hate speech, incitement to violence, and riot are not new, but the use of social media technology is. Thus, while technology sometimes enables new forms of crime, it sometimes gives new ways to commit old crimes. There is no doubt that technological change challenges the police. There is often a sense that:

The British police have often been highly innovative in their adoption of new technologies, particularly in the areas of data processing, communication and forensic science, as you will learn in the following sections.