Threat Intelligence

Why Police Are Struggling to Keep Up With Cybercrime

Dark Reading · 21 Aug 2026

Key Takeaway Don't rely on police response alone—invest in strong preventative cybersecurity and know how to report incidents to national cybercrime authorities before you need them.

Cybercrime continues to evolve faster than the resources dedicated to fighting it. According to recent reporting, law enforcement agencies are struggling to train officers quickly enough to deal with the sheer volume and complexity of modern cyber offences, even though experts suggest officers don't need to become technical specialists—just understand the basics of how these crimes work and how to respond.

The core problems aren't a lack of willingness but a lack of money and mindset. Budget constraints mean cybercrime training is often deprioritised in favour of other policing needs, while organisational focus tends to remain on traditional crime categories. This leaves many police forces underprepared to investigate or respond effectively to cyber incidents affecting individuals and businesses.

For small businesses, this gap matters. If law enforcement's ability to respond to cybercrime is limited, businesses can't rely solely on police action after an incident—they need strong internal defences and clear reporting relationships with cybercrime authorities like ReportCyber or the ACSC. Building a relationship with these resources before an incident occurs can make recovery faster and more effective.

cybercrime law enforcement policy SMB security incident reporting

Summarised by CISO AI from Dark Reading. We link back to every original so you can read it yourself.