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Renovation, modernization and delivery of equipment to the Cybercrime Unit of the Guatemalan National Civil Police

Guatemala, January 14, 2021. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime for Central America and the Caribbean (UNODC ROPAN) together with the Canadian Embassy in Guatemala inaugurated the renovation, expansion and modernization of the Cybercrime Unit of the Specialized Criminal Investigation Division (DEIC) of the Guatemalan National Civil Police (PNC). In addition, specialized equipment for digital analysis and video forensics was delivered.

The measures adopted to contain the Covid-19 pandemic impacted the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), both in the school and work environments, increasing vulnerabilities and risks in the use of ICTs. The Cybercrime Unit recorded an increase of 52% in the year 2020 in crimes facilitated by the Internet.

UNODC strengthened the capacities of the staff of the Cybercrime Unit of the PNC of Guatemala in these areas: computer forensic law, digital evidence, forensic analysis techniques, digital profiling, sexual crimes and cyberpedestrians, IoT and the Deep Web, cyberterrorism and cybersecurity, OSINT methods, preparation of reports and digital forensic reports, among others.

The expansion, renovation and delivery of technical equipment was carried out within the framework of the project "Strengthening the capacities of security and justice sector institutions in Central America for the prevention, identification and criminal prosecution of cybercrime, transnational organized crime and related cases through digital evidence", financed by the Government of Canada.

Commissioner Nery Benito Hernandez, Deputy Director General of Criminal Investigation of the PNC, thanked the Government of Canada and UNODC for being key allies in the fight against cybercrime, transnational organized crime, as well as in the prevention and eradication of child sexual exploitation online.

The Deputy Director General Benito also added that "the support of UNODC through technological equipment will be of great help for criminal investigations that are coordinated with the Public Prosecutor's Office; and the renovation of the unit will be of great help for the attention to the victims". Authorities of the National Civil Police of Guatemala took a guided tour of the facilities of the Cybercrime Unit of the Specialized Division of Criminal Investigation (DEIC) and learned about successful cases of access to justice in which the specialized criminal investigation in cybercrime has participated.