UK police call for new digital legislation
Head of British Essex Police, leading the fight against digital crime, has called for new legislation to tackle an “unimagined scale of online abuse” that is threatening to overwhelm the police service.
Stephen Kavanagh says it is necessary to consolidate and simplify offences committed online to improve the chance of justice for tens of thousands of victims.
“There are crimes now taking place – the malicious use of intimate photographs for example – which we never would have imagined as an offence when I was a PC in the 80s. It’s not just the nature of it, it is the sheer volume,” he said.
He made the statements two days after Former England footballer Adam Johnson was found guilty of sexual activity with a 15 year old girl having groomed her via a series of WhatsApp messages.
He went on saying that the range of legislation used against online abusers did not serve victims well. It includes at least one law that dates back to the 19th century.
Now a group of British lawmakers are set to introduce a private member’s bill into parliament on Wednesday to update the law on cyber-enabled crime.
The draft legislation calls for a review and consolidation into one act of all the legislation currently being used against digital crime. It also calls for new powers to outlaw the use of spyware or webcams on digital devices without permission, the Guardian reported.
Online abuse is hugely under-reported in the UK. According to the Greater London Authority, only 9% of online hate crimes nationwide were investigated. Its victims include those suffering racist and homophobic abuse, as well as women and girls suffering harassment, online stalking, threats, blackmail and sexual abuse facilitated via social media, the British daily noted.
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