COPRNET

• To bring together professionals with a shared interest in supporting individuals and small organisations who experienced online crime or harm.
• To provide a space for members to meaningfully connect with each other and thus enable peer support.
• To enable knowledge exchange and collaboration across sectors and disciplines.
• To enable members to expand their networks nationally and internationally.

• Academic: Dr Sara Correia-Hopkins
• Non-Academic: tbc

Quarterly networking sessions, hybrid (in-person/virtual) events, guest speakers, an online ‘community’ and joint events with allied organisations nationally and internationally.

COPRNET fosters a non-hierarchical, diverse and welcoming space. It provides a space where discussion is constructive, non-adversarial and aims to help each other improve understandings and practices. We want members to feel welcome and able to share their views and experiences.

Professionals across the public, private and third sectors, with an interest in supporting individuals and small organisations who experienced, or are at risk of, online crime or harms. While this network has a Wales-focus, we welcome all who share our aims and ethos.

To join the network, please complete this brief Expression of Interest form.

The network launched in June 2023 and grew out of a Swansea-based pilot project which was a collaboration between Swansea University, South Wales Police and the Swansea Council for Voluntary Services.

The project was inspired by the Cybercrime Awareness Clinic at the University of Portsmouth and has benefited from the insights of an advisory board which includes representatives from academia, industry, public and third sectors.

Swansea was once nicknamed "Copperopolis" for its historical role in the copper production industry, hence the acronym COPR, the Welsh word for Copper.

Through a collaborative pilot project in 2022, we identified a need for practitioners and researchers to be well connected, have access to peer support network and help each other to stay up to date on best/innovative practices, as well as inter-agency referral pathways. A few examples of what professionals say:

“I think that the element of networking is very important. The fact that, for example, even if I had a background on computer science I wouldn't know everything about everything. So to be able to be part of a broader organisation, to have other analysts that do the same work as I do, for example, a select group where you can share your thoughts and say look this is happening right now - can some, as somebody deal with this situation? Can somebody help me?” (Third Sector Practitioner)

“I think there's so much hard work going on, but we tend to work in isolation, don't we? And I'm always amazed about you know just through today you know the work that other people do and the areas they're working in, and I think, well, I've learned so much already. I suppose it's trying to maintain that sort of link, isn't it beyond where we are now so that we can use it on a day-to-day basis if we need to sort of seek out or find out who the right person is to approach.” (Law Enforcement Practitioner)

“It's so much nicer when you've got a name, isn't it? You've got somebody’s name and a face to go to, and you can just pick up the phone and say I'm not sure about this. You know, but rather than Googling things and finding out, it's so nice when you've got those contacts on tap, sort of thing, isn't it?” (Third Sector Practitioner)