In 1988 the Institute of Justice undertook two computer crime projects and the revision of a third in response to results of the Institute's periodic national assessments of criminal justice priorities.
The first project examined the few jurisdictions which already had computer crime units, producing the report "Dedicated Computer Crime Units" by Tom McEwen. The second explored how specific cases of computer crime were handled in jurisdictions without such units, resulting in "Organizing for Computer Crime Investigation and Prosecution" by Cathy Conley. The third project was a second edition of Donn Parker's highly-regarded "Computer Crime Resource Manual." The agenda for discussion at the Meeting was compiled from a wide range of computer crime issues such as technological, legal, jurisdictional, and managerial. The complexity of the issues is made even more challenging for investigators and prosecutors when the ethical ambivalence underlying computer crime is noted since the transgressing hacker or criminal is often considered an American entrepreneur.