Mr. Drew Harris:

We can provide the figures for the bureau’s growth over the past three years. The Deputy is right that nearly every crime has some element of computer involvement, particularly mobile phone involvement. That even includes serious road traffic collisions. One would check to see whether a mobile phone was in use at the time of, or just before, a collision. Every incident invariably involves some form of phone examination or computer examination. That is why we further invested in this area.

During the pandemic, we saw an upsurge in fraud. Much of it was perpetrated through texts, emails or investments. There was also romance fraud. These are areas we are very aware of. It is a growth area. The growth is actually related to the amount of technology and how all-pervasive it is. Crimes are happening against that backdrop. Some of the crimes are enabled because the Internet exists. The sharing of images of child abuse exists because it can happen over the Internet. With regard to other crimes, it is an extra complication that there is ICT or phone engagement.