How Does Law Enforcement Handle Computer Crime?

Computers have allowed criminals to move into cyber space.

Computers are used to commit crimes from bullying to international terrorism to spreading child pornography. In the past 30 years, as computers have become more accessible and more part of everyday life, new laws have had to be enacted and law enforcement has had to learn new techniques to fight computer crime.

Unauthorized Use

The U.S. Department of Justice enacted the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act in 2008 to provide guidance to federal law enforcement on unauthorized use and access of federal computer databases (See Reference 1 for a link to the Act). Law enforcement is battling identity theft through education campaigns to make people wary about who they give information to online, and through acts such as the Identity Theft and Assumption Deterrence Act of 1998 that makes identity theft a crime punishable by up to 15 years in prison.

Virus Programs

To combat viral computer attacks, the Department of Justice formed the Computer Hacking and Intellectual Property (CHIP) program. Law enforcement officers and prosecutors who make up the CHIP task force released a report in 2006 that revealed the program's success in dismantling international computer-based criminal organizations, and in gaining international support for cross-training and investigation of computer crime. Law enforcement agencies use internal servers for important data and recommend that large businesses do the same since internal servers are more difficult to access than servers off-property that host more than one company.

Cyber Bullying and Stalking

According to the National Crime Prevention Center, more than 40 percent of all teenagers with Internet access reported being bullied online between 2007 and 2008. Only about 10 percent of the instances of bullying are reported to parents, and only 18 percent of those are reported to law enforcement. Law enforcement cannot enforce crimes that go unreported. When they are reported, strong action is being taken. In March 2010, a girl in Massachusetts committed suicide after bullying in person and online. Law enforcement responded by charging the bullies with criminal harassment, stalking and civil rights violations.

Child Pornography

According to an analysis of government data published in USA Today in April 2008, fewer than 1 percent of leads involving child pornography were followed up on because of a lack of funding. When he was still a U.S. senator, Vice President Joe Biden sponsored a bill known as the Combating Child Exploitation Act that significantly increased funding for enforcement of child protective laws. The bill was signed into law in October 2008.

How to Report Computer Crimes

Any computer crime can be reported to local authorities. The U.S. Department of Justice Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section says not all types of federal computer crimes should be reported to the same place. Crimes involving unauthorized access to the computer should be reported to the local FBI office or the U.S. Secret Service. Cases involving child pornography may be reported to the local FBI office, and if the material is imported from outside the United States, it should be reported to U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement. Any federal Internet crime may be reported to the Internet Crime Complaint Center. (See Resource 3 for a link to the Center).

References

• Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1988
• Cyber Bullying Statistics
• Internet Crime Complaint Center