'Growing 3x faster than police staffing': Surge in cybercrime and new laws on ransomware payment could put UK businesses (and their directors) — in a "compliance trap."
Ransomware payments may soon carry civil or criminal penalties
by https://www.techradar.com/uk/author/efosa-udinmwen · TechRadarNews By Efosa Udinmwen published 4 April 2026
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- Cybercrime cases climbed from 774 thousand to over 1.4 million
- Police staffing for cybercrime rose by only 31% during the same period
- Each officer now handles significantly more cases than four years ago
Cybercrime in the United Kingdom is expanding at a rate that exceeds the growth of dedicated policing resources, and new figures from Forbes Solicitors claim fraud and computer misuse offenses have increased sharply in recent years, while staffing levels in cyber and economic crime units rose at a slower pace.
Reported incidents climbed from 774,537 cases in 2020 to 1,458,704 in the latest figures, representing an increase of 88% - but over the same period, the number of personnel handling such offenses rose by 31%. This means that reported incidents are rising 3x faster than policing, creating a widening imbalance between workload and available resources.
As a result, each staff member is now responsible for substantially more cases than in previous years.
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Offense volumes surge sharply within a short time frame
At the same time, regulatory changes are advancing through Parliament with the aim of strengthening national cyber resilience.
“The Cyber Security and Resilience Bill is expected to become law this year, and Government is also looking at new legislation for banning and preventing ransomware payments,” said Craig MacKenzie, Head of High Profile and Private Crime at Forbes Solicitors.
The proposed legislation is expected to introduce stricter requirements for organizations, alongside expanded enforcement powers and higher financial penalties for non-compliance.
Existing penalty limits could be replaced by fines linked to a percentage of global turnover, which would increase potential liabilities for large organizations.
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