Police and Crime Commissioner Nicolle Ndiweni-Roberts has reflected on her national role in tackling fraud, cybercrime and online harm.
The Derbyshire PCC is Joint National Lead for Economic and Cybercrime on behalf of the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners (APCC) and has been working with police and justice experts over the two years to bring landmark changes to protect the public and prevent online harm.
The PCC met with MP Jess Phillips in her previous role as Minister for Safeguarding and Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG), to strongly endorse new measures announced in the Crime and Policing Bill to criminalise AI models that have been optimised to create child sexual abuse material (CSAM). This issue is already affecting our communities, with Derbyshire Constabulary having already arrested an individual guilty of such offences right here in Derbyshire.
The Bill has since received Royal Assent, officially passing into law as the Crime and Policing Act 2026. It means anyone who adapts, possesses, supplies or offers to supply an AI model or generator optimised to produce CSAM faces a maximum sentence of up to five years in prison.
In other activity, the Commissioner has worked with the Chair of the City of London Police Authority Board and Joint Lead, Tijs Broeke, alongside Lord David Hanson, the UK’s first Fraud Minister, feeding into the new National Fraud Strategy on behalf of PCCs across the country, which focuses heavily on combating tech-enabled fraud, including emerging technologies such as AI.
Alongside the strategy launch, the platform known to the public as Action Fraud has been replaced with a new national, victim-focused reporting service called Report Fraud. This has been designed to make it easier to report and respond to cybercrime.
In her APCC role, the PCC is a key influencer in the development of national strategy, improved collaboration and the sharing of best practice, maximising opportunities for learning, increasing resources and heightening public awareness with campaigns.
Through her role on the regional East Midlands Cyber Resilience Centre (EMCRC) Board, the PCC ensures businesses are provided with access to free guidance, training, and practical resources to strengthen cyber resilience and prevent attacks before they happen.
43% of UK businesses experienced a cyber breach or attack in the last 12 months which is equivalent to 612,000 businesses.
The EMCRC is part of a growing UK network of Government-funded cyber resilience centres. Led by police, the organisation works in partnership with the private sector and universities to provide free support to small and midsize businesses across the East Midlands.
In other work, the PCC continues to raise awareness of how everyday technology can be hacked and misused, as well as spyware being increasingly used as a tool for committing domestic abuse.
At a regional VAWG Conference, the PCC hosted a dedicated Tech Abuse Panel bringing together experts from support providers Refuge, The Elm Foundation and Derbyshire Constabulary, which reinforced a joint commitment to tackling tech-enabled abuse and ensuring local victims receive the protection and support they need.
Locally, the PCC continues to fund the i-vengers programme – a year-long digital safety programme that has trained thousands of young people, their peers and families to protect themselves online.
Police and Crime Commissioner Nicolle Ndweni-Roberts said: “Cybercrime and fraud pose a severe threat to the UK, accounting for more than 40% of all reported crime and costing the UK economy billions of pounds every year.
“Prevention and early intervention are critical in tackling these risks and must always be our first and last line of defence. Put very simply, knowledge is power. The more we can raise awareness, increase education and enable people to speak openly and confidently about scams and other online threats, the stronger and safer our communities will become. This is why I continue to prioritise investment in interactive schools-based education in Derbyshire, helping young people at primary school age to build digital resilience and critical thinking skills that will protect them in the future.
“Too many victims experience fraud and cybercrime in silence and isolation — afraid to report their ordeal through fear, embarrassment or stigma. We need to normalise conversations about scams and technology-enabled fraud so people can understand that anyone can be exploited or become a victim.”
In her determination to support victims appropriately, she has commissioned victim services specialist Remedi UK to provide tailored 1-1 support for those in need. This has proved a very effective way to help people over these barriers, and in some instances this intervention and support has saved lives.
The PCC insisted community is key. She said prevention worked best when people looked out for one another, shared experiences, and understood where they could turn for trusted advice and support.
“It’s a simple but powerful message: if in doubt, pause, check and talk to someone you trust,” she added.
