Barry Sheerman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2016-05-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps the Government is taking to deter young people from committing cyber crime.

Mr John Hayes

The Government’s Serious and Organised Crime Strategy (2013) sets out our approach to deterring people from becoming involved in serious and organised crime, including cyber crime.

In March 2015, the Home Office published additional guidance to support local partners to understand pathways into serious and organised crime and put in place Prevent interventions for individuals at risk. The Home Office works closely with law enforcement, in particular the National Crime Agency (NCA) , to understand the drivers behind young people committing cyber crime.

Working to the Serious and Organised Crime Strategy, the NCA aims to prevent young people from becoming involved in cybercrime in the first place, moving deeper into cyber crime and/or reoffending. The NCA works with both domestic and international partners to raise awareness of what activity is illegal, what are the consequences and the many positive career pathways available for those with technical cyber skillsets.