NSW Police gets extra $15m for "digital forensics" technology
Key points
- NSW Police are set to receive an extra $15 million to access encrypted devices and digital platforms as part of an organised crime crackdown.
- The funding builds on $108.8 million from the most recent state budget for new technology and digital infrastructure upgrades.
- The government will also update state laws to create new offences targeting people who administer or encourage digital platforms for organised criminal activity.
NSW Police are set to receive an extra $15 million to spend on technology to access “encrypted devices and digital platforms”, for the purpose of a crackdown on organised crime.
The government announced the additional funding on Monday “to expand NSW Police technology capabilities to access, download and analyse” encrypted devices and platforms.
“Criminal networks increasingly rely on encrypted devices and digital communications to organise their operations and attempt to evade law enforcement,” the government said in a statement.
“The investment will see technology rolled out more broadly across NSW, putting these capabilities into more police stations and giving investigators faster access to critical digital evidence.”
The additional funding builds on $108.8 million given to NSW Police in the most recent state budget to spend on “the newest technology and upgrades to fight crime and [to] transform [its] digital infrastructure and capability.”
“The significant investment in digital forensic capabilities will give police the ability to crack encrypted devices and uncover evidence organised criminals rely on to hide their activities,” NSW Police commissioner Mal Lanyon said in a statement.
The government said it would also update the state’s laws to crack down on “online contract crime”.
“New offences will target people who administer or encourage the use of digital platforms to arrange or facilitate serious organised criminal activity,” it said.
“The laws will also make it a crime to encourage someone else to use a digital platform to arrange or facilitate these offences or to provide information to evade detection for these new offences.”
About Author
