NCJ Number
167877
Date Published
1993
Length
59 pages
Annotation
A working group established to examine computer fraud and a proposed new Federal sentencing guideline to address harms occurring under Federal laws enacted during the last decade.
Abstract
Personnel from the Department of Justice's Computer Crime Unit (DOJ/CCU) consulted with the working group. The working group concluded that three approaches to sentencing guidelines on these issues would be possible. These approaches are (1) the promulgation of a separate computer fraud guideline, (2) a middle approach of adding new loss commentary to existing guidelines and exploring the use of other existing guidelines to address the added harms, and (3) making no changes while monitoring sentencing practices to determine the need for future changes. The guidelines currently offer no guidance on how to handle the added harms recognized in changes in Federal law over the last decade. Revising the commentary would not be difficult. However, a consensus emerged that the case for a new guideline on computer fraud is weak and that the best approach would be to use the middle approach and have other existing guidelines address the added computer harms. Footnotes and appended background materials