London - The Home Secretary, Mr Jack Straw, yesterday launched Britain's first crime agency dedicated to tackling paedophile groups and other criminals operating on the Internet, writes Rachel Donnelly.
80 police officers, customs officers and experts from the computer industry and will form the new group, the National Hi-Tech Crime Unit (NHTCU), which will track down fraudsters and paedophiles who are increasingly using the Internet as a criminal tool.
Starting the new crime unit, Mr Straw said the £25 million project would improve the technical capability of the police to detect and investigate "hi-tech" crime. However, Mr John Wadham, director of the civil rights group, Liberty, said many people were concerned over public agencies gaining access to personal information contained on computers and he urged the police to ensure such information "isn't going to get into the wrong hands".