NCJ Number
158679
Journal
Law Enforcement Technology Volume: 22 Issue: 10 Dated: (October 1995) Pages: 54,56,63
Date Published
1995
Length
3 pages
Annotation
Computer-related crime is a major problem, but law enforcement techniques lag 2-3 years behind the criminals; police have difficulty collecting evidence and combating these crimes.
Abstract
For example, when searching a crime scene with a computer, the police officer's first step should be to unplug the computer and seize it to preserve the data contained in the hard drive. Police should also be aware that any computer can be booby-trapped in several different ways. Trained investigators know how to retrieve the data in most cases. The average computer crime involved $200,000 to $600,000; the offender has only a 2 percent chance of being apprehended. Hackers' publications and online news groups that deal with high-tech crimes and information security are useful ways of keeping informed for police who do not receive formal training in computer investigation or computer forensics. Police agencies should make sure that one person is responsible for studying computer technology and computer crime. The Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Georgia and the nonprofit organization Search both provide training in investigating computer crimes. Case examples of computer-related crimes