Police programmes such as Cyber Choices intervene when teenagers are caught hacking, offering months-long one-to-one mentoring and pathways into training and jobs to prevent escalation into serious cyber-crime. The National Crime Agency reports more than 1,150 referrals in eight years, with nearly 600 in the last three. Authorities warn that young, English-speaking hackers have been linked to high-profile incidents and that many referred youngsters are neurodiverse. Supporters argue that early, rehab-style engagement is preferable to leaving talented youths exposed to criminal online influences.
Teen Hackers Turned Around: How Police ‘Cyber Choices’ Steer Young Coders Away From Crime
Lucas said he felt a "sense of achievement" from hacking [BBC]
Lucas was 16 when he twice breached his school’s computer systems while trying to play games and reach blocked websites. "It was like a challenge to see if I could," he told the BBC, describing how tinkering with code and even removing parts from a desktop tower became a means of testing his skills.
Facing possible expulsion, Lucas’s mother invited an officer from the nationwide Cyber Choices programme to their home in rural Cumbria. PC Sam Cooper, a cyber prevent officer, has been mentoring Lucas since that visit, explaining the real-world harms caused by cyber-attacks and drawing clear lines between legal and illegal activity.
PC Sam Cooper visits children at their homes to guide them away from cyber criminality [BBC]
What Cyber Choices Does
Cyber Choices (also known as Cyber Prevent) offers one-to-one mentoring, advice on lawful activity, and routes into training and qualifications. Officers work with youngsters—often in their homes—over months, identifying interests and redirecting talent toward positive career paths such as cyber security. The programme runs alongside Prevent, the UK scheme focused on countering radicalisation.
Scale and Concern
Paul Foster, who leads cyber prevention at the National Crime Agency (NCA), says referrals have increased: more than 1,150 cases were sent to the NCA’s Cyber Choices scheme in the past eight years, with nearly 600 of those in the last three years. Authorities warn that teenage hacking groups are playing a more visible role in serious incidents—English-speaking, western-based young hackers have been linked to attacks on organisations including Transport for London (TfL) and MGM Grand in 2024, and Marks and Spencer and the Co‑op in 2025. Individuals have also been targeted for cryptocurrency thefts.
Paul Foster, the NCA's cyber prevention lead, says hacking has become "more of a problem" [BBC]
Who Gets Referred
Referrals come from across the country and from varied backgrounds. Officers say many of the young people they meet are neurodiverse—often autistic or showing similar traits—and can have a strong affinity for technology. Cooper observes that some youths become fixated on technical goals and may ignore adults, which is where sustained mentoring can help.
Debate and Outcomes
Critics worry that teaching cyber skills to youths already interested in hacking risks increasing their capability to offend. There have been cases where a participant allegedly reoffended after taking part in the programme. The NCA acknowledges the risk but argues early outreach is preferable to leaving talented, curious teens exposed to criminal influences online.
Owen Flowers (left) and Thalha Jubair admitted hacking TfL [Metropolitan Police]
"My fear is that if we didn't give them something like Cyber Choices, where would they get that input and where would that input take them?" — Paul Foster, NCA.
Success Stories
Lucas says the prospect of a police visit made him rethink his path; without the intervention he believes he would have continued pushing boundaries. Another success is Izak, a 21-year-old now working in cyber security who was steered away from criminal groups after a visit from Leicestershire Police when he was 15.
The programme is not a silver bullet, but Cyber Choices aims to convert curiosity and technical talent into legitimate careers while reducing the risk of escalation into serious cyber-crime.
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