The government has defended a decision to make banks the first point of contact for reporting computer crime.

The Home Office introduced the new procedure in April, whereby businesses and consumers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland have to report instances of online, cheque and card fraud to their bank or building society instead of the police.
During a Commons Home Affairs question session yesterday, junior Home Office Minister Vernon Coaker said the move will help to better understand crime patterns.

‘That means not only that people will be recompensed for losses they have incurred but that the law enforcement agencies will be able to detect patterns of criminal activity as a result of which far more perpetrators of fraud will be caught and dealt with by the courts,’ he told MPs.

Conservative MP for Hornchurch James Brokenshire said that stopping the reporting of online banking fraud direct to the police ‘sends a confused message about the seriousness with which this type of crime is treated and suggests the Home Office either cannot cope or cannot be bothered with e-crime.’

Coaker said the Association of Chief Police Officers is considering the business case for setting up a central e-crime co-ordination unit and insisted e-crime is taken seriously.

E-crime reporting used to be handled by the National Hi-Tech Crime Unit, but since it was disbanded and merged into the new Serious and Organised Crime Agency in April 2006, there has been no central unit dealing with cyber crime reporting.