Police Regional Organised Crime Unit go live with The Cyber Helpline chatbot

As part of a six-month pilot, The Yorkshire & Humber Regional Organised Crime Unit (ROCU) is offering the region’s cybercrime victims immediate access to our chatbot and helpline via its website. The Yorkshire & Humber ROCU is one of ten Regional Organised Crime Units providing specialist capability to tackle the increasingly complex threat posed by organised crime.

Our unique chatbot has been added to the Yorkshire & Humber ROCU’s website and will enable the ROCU to promote our service to its victims in a bid to provide immediate support, reduce repeat victimisation and increase the reporting of cybercrime.  

While the Yorkshire & Humber team will have no access to any personal data or case information – chatbot users will remain anonymous and those who use our human helpline will do so privately – we will share some statistics about the volume and type of attacks we see in the region to support the measurement of success of the pilot and aid information sharing.

We are working directly with the Yorkshire & Humber Regional Cyber Crime Unit (RCCU), part of the wider regional organised crime unit. The RCCU works with the National Crime Agency and other partners, in the UK and abroad, to investigate and prevent the most serious cybercrime offences.

Rory Innes, CEO of The Cyber Helpline, said, “Victims of cybercrime need help. Often they need that help quickly and from someone they know they can trust. It is great to be working with the Yorkshire & Humber team to ensure that the region’s victims have someone to turn to 24/7 to help them deal with experiencing a cybercrime or online security issues.

We have built a unique service using a mix of an intelligent chatbot and expert volunteers to support victims and fight cybercrime. I am confident that this partnership will have a big impact on the region and prove to be a blueprint for supporting victims throughout the UK.”

Shelton Newsham, Cyber Protect & Prevent Lead and Regional Fraud Development Officer of the Yorkshire & Humber RCCU said, “The purpose of the chatbot is to provide simple, accurate advice and signpost to the relevant agencies and reporting points where required. This is a great opportunity for the Yorkshire and Humber Region, but more importantly to show how effective this would be in assisting people across the UK. I really feel users will benefit greatly from the chatbot.”

If you are interested in learning more about the pilot then please get in touch.