Accolade for cyberspace policing

A hi-tech method of crime detection, devised by West Midlands Police, is being used by other forces to target illegal firearms.

The Society for the Policing of Cyberspace presented an award in Canada to the force for its innovative work with internet auction site, Ebay UK.

Officers are able to discover how weapons are being brought into the UK and their intended destination.

The system analyses confiscated computers in liaison with Ebay.

Assistant Chief Constable (Crime) Stuart Hyde said: "This is a major achievement and demonstrates how local forces, working with industry, can use hi-tech investigation skills to impact on local crime.

"The techniques that have brought child abusers to justice are just as effective when tackling mainstream criminality such as robbery and burglary, where people try to hide behind the supposed anonymity of the internet to sell stolen goods."