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[Dalek]

Teenage criminals should wear Wi-Fi jamming anklets says top cop

Teenage criminals should be forced to wear a Wi-Fi jammer, rather than sentenced to jail time for digital crimes, one of the UK's top police officers has suggested. The cop admits that there might be some practical or human rights issues, but that shouldn't stop the ministry of justice from considering body-worn Wi-Fi jammers.

Computer-based crime is on the rise, and the average age of those criminals in the UK is just 17, down from an average age of 24 in 2014. The most common digital crimes in the UK are bank account fraud (usually via phishing or malware), followed by non-investment fraud, computer viruses, and good ol' hacking. If you add the numbers up, 51 percent of all fraud offences in the UK are believed to be "cyber-related."

"We have got to stop using 19th century punishments to deal with 21st century crimes," chief superintendent Gavin Thomas, president of the Police Superintendents Association, told the Telegraph. "It costs around £38,000 a year to keep someone in prison but if you look at the statistics around short term sentencing the recidivism rate is extraordinarily high ... If you have got a 16-year-old who has hacked into your account and stolen your identity, this is a 21st century crime, so we ought to have a 21st century methodology to address it."

In addition to wearing a Wi-Fi jammer, Thomas suggests that teen offenders "could be required to go on an ethics and value programme about how you behave online, which is an area that I think is absent at the moment."

Wi-Fi jammers are devices that create radio interference on the frequencies used by the suite of 802.11 WLAN standards. The interference prevents any nearby devices from picking up a Wi-Fi signal from a wireless access point. Depending on the power output of the jammer, the interference bubble can be anything from a few metres (0.5W), to hundreds of metres (100W). Because Bluetooth and Wi-Fi both use the unlicensed 2.4GHz band, a Wi-Fi jammer will usually block Bluetooth as well. You can also buy a single jamming device that blocks 2G, 3G, and 4G signals, in addition to Wi-Fi. Prices range from about £100 to thousands of pounds, depending on your requirements.

The problem is, radio jammers are very illegal in the UK. Deliberate interference—even in a theatre, cinema, library, or examination hall—is an offence under the Wireless Telegraphy Act and can land you in jail for a couple of years, and/or an unlimited fine. Scanning for a transmitting device is acceptable (for example to catch an exam cheater), but jamming is never okay because it can potentially interfere with other legitimate users.

Superintendent Thomas might be thinking that there's a legal loophole if these radio jammers are somehow part of an ongoing police operation, but I suspect that even police use of radio jammers is highly regulated. We've asked Ofcom for clarification and will update this story when we get a response.

Presumably Thomas is thinking of outfitting teens with low-power ankle-worn Wi-Fi jammers that have a very short range—but even then, if the convicted criminal is walking around town or sitting in a coffee shop, it's likely that other users would be affected. Realistically, if the purpose of the jammer is to stop the criminal from reoffending, then it would have to block cellular signals as well—and you can imagine the joy of having your mobile calls and Internet randomly dropping out whenever someone with a jammer walks by.

What could go wrong?

 

[Salamando]

when your plan for punishment is beaten by an ethernet cable, you need a new plan.

 

[Makonero]

 

[Frozenprince]

I don't think this guy understands how the internet works.

 

[Lan Dong Mik]

lol

 

[Necron]

Black Mirror was right.

 

[Beefy]

Doesn't make sense.

 

[Meatfist]

This feels like the equivalent of your mom taking the power cord away from the PC, so you just grab the one from the printer instead

I see what he's alluding to, but your plan kind of sucks when a) it affects other people's wireless and cell signal and b) hardwired computers exist

 

[Netherscourge]

Wouldn't you want them to have WIFI access so they can be tracked easier?

 

[Skellig Gra]

Just take away his doritos and mountain dew.

 

[HStallion]

Yeah this wouldn't work to well in any kind of public place.

 

[Hexa]

There is a reason that jammers are illegal.

 

[capitalCORN]

Wouldn't you want them to have WIFI access so they can be tracked easier?

Shhh, don'y ruin it for the rest of us..

 

[BroBot]

Wouldn't you want them to have WIFI access so they can be tracked easier?

Exactly what I was thinking.

 

[bman94]

Wouldn't it just be easier to just block their personal Internet connections at home and on mobile via network? Yeah there's always public internet usage but Wi-fi jammer seems to affect others than the criminal.

 

[Sakura]

Wouldn't the kid be like blocking everybody's wifi when he is in the area?
Also yeah, ethernet cables are a thing...

 

[FStop7]

When someone is this fucking stupid they need to be relieved of their duties.

 

[Air Zombie Meat]

So you're fucked if you live next door to someone with this.

 

[Psychological Intellect]

This feels like the equivalent of your mom taking the power cord away from the PC, so you just grab the one from the printer instead

She didn't have a fucking clue

 

[Already Torn]

Stay away from airports I guess

"Top Cop" sounds like the name of a cheesy cartoon character from the '90s.

It's a "Get Smart" style show where the titular "Top Cop" keeps fucking everything up with his self-styled "genius" ideas.

 

[MrCunningham]

"Top Cop" sounds like the name of a cheesy cartoon character from the '90s.

 

[EvilMario]

"The cop admits that there might be some practical or human rights issues, but that shouldn't stop the ministry of justice from considering body-worn Wi-Fi jammers."

 

[darscot]

Why do people that do not understand technology think they do? He is laughable ignorant.

 

[ReAxion]

top cop needs schooling

 

[DeathoftheEndless]

Turning average criminals into supervillains with the power to jam internet signals is a brilliant idea.

 

[adamantypants]

Yes, everyone knows that most digital crimes are committed through mobile phones and tablets. I mean, who actually connects a desktop with wires these days anyway?

 

[cyress8]

I actually want them to do it. Can't wait for the 4chan posts.

 

[Familienoberhauptvogel]

I'm all for alternative ways of punishment but those kinds of devices are usually illegal.

 

[Ray Wonder]

Can't you just wrap the thing in a cloth that blocks it, like something from here?

 

[The Albatross]

Work up to 20meters... that'd be hell for anybody in a relatively close proximity to these blokes.

 

[Ogodei]

Yes, everyone knows that most digital crimes are committed through mobile phones and tablets. I mean, who actually connects a desktop with wires these days anyway?

It's honestly growing less common. I rent, and wanted my modem and cable box together closer to my TV nearer the cable outlet, but wanted my desk to be sort of perpendicular to the TV so i could see the TV and the monitor while the TV was on, and didn't want an ugly wire running straight across my carpet (not only unsightly, but annoying to deal with when vacuuming time comes around), so i just use the PC's built-in wifi instead. Last house I lived in was a shared living situation where the router was on a different floor (which, being a duplex, was somebody else's house, just owned by the same landlord), so no chance of having wired internet.

 

[Steeped in a Sea of Games]

Honestly, the internet is terrible for at risk youth. Working with population has shown me how complex and frustrating this issue is.

One example, I once had a girl get an iPod from her ward for Christmas. Despite WiFi clamped down in the cottage, she managed to find a tiny corner with access to an unsecured signal coming from god knows where and managed to meet another kid online. She managed to break out, call a taxi and go to his house. She skipped on the fare and it wasn't until the kids parents called the cops that we could find her. Imagine having a random psych-ward patient with extreme behavioral problems show up at your doorstep. It's all too easy these days.