POLICE volunteers from across North Yorkshire gathered to hear about the threats facing people online and the latest efforts to tackle this growing area of crime.

The cybercrime conference in Harrogate on Sunday was the first Citizens in Policing conference for the county’s force.

A total of 150 special constables, police support volunteers and volunteer policing cadets attended the event, which focused on cybercrime and how volunteers can play a key role in helping members of the public stay safe online.

Chief Constable Dave Jones, who is also the National Police Chiefs’ Council’s lead for Citizens in Policing, opened the conference and led a question and answer session later in the day.

Speakers included Mary Bailey, the newly-appointed National Citizens in Policing coordinator, Dr Jeffrey DeMarco, a research director for the crime and justice team at NatCen Social Research and a senior researcher with the Centre for Abuse and Trauma Studies; Richard De Vere, who is the principal consultant for an ethical social engineering consultancy, helping organisations protect themselves against malicious attacks; and Hampshire Constabulary’s Special Chief Officer Tom Haye, who also has a national role within the Digital Investigation and Intelligence programme. He is the national lead for police on the development of Cyber Specials and Cyber Volunteers.

Natasha Almond, Citizens in Policing coordinator manager at North Yorkshire Police organised the conference. She said: “This was the first time all our cadets, police support volunteers and special constables have had the opportunity to meet up under one roof to share knowledge and experience, and cement relationships.

“A key focus for us as a police service is cybercrime, and our speakers provided detailed insights into the threats facing people online which will help us to shape the education and advice we deliver to members of the public. The conference also gave us the opportunity to launch our Cybercrime Ambassador recruitment drive which will see volunteers trained to out into the community to provide essential crime prevention advice around this growing area of crime.”