Abstract
Abstract Victimization from cybercrime has increased exponentially over the past decade. Frontline police officers are dealing with a variety of crimes different than those existing in an era before the advent of digital technology. Frontline officers are expected to encourage members of the public to report such crimes, to investigate them, as well as keeping up-to-date with the latest developments in this ever-changing landscape. This study explored the issues that frontline officers are dealing with on a daily basis when it comes to cybercrime. Sixteen frontline police officers took part in focus groups exploring key questions around aspects of cybercrime. The key themes discussed in this article include the difficulty of defining what is cybercrime, the contrast between the speed of developments in cybercrime and the speed of investigation, and the ineffectiveness of current training. The results are discussed in the context of a need for clearer training information to be delivered to all officers and staff who come into contact with aspects of cybercrime.
Highlights
The current level of reported cybercrimes in the UK for adults stands at approximately 4.7 million incidents in the year ending September 2017 (British Crime Survey, 2017)
There were numerous instances where participants stressed the huge variety of activities that the term cybercrime could cover: ‘...you look at the vastness of those tags that we’re putting on to cyber crime...’ (RS3, Focus Group 2)
The current work aimed to explore the perceptions, attitudes, and challenges a group of front line police officers faced in dealing with cybercrime
Summary
The current level of reported cybercrimes in the UK for adults stands at approximately 4.7 million incidents in the year ending September 2017 (British Crime Survey, 2017). In an effort to maintain such a response, a variety of assumptions in relation to frontline officers’ knowledge and understanding of an ever-changing and complex environment are made (Holt & Bossler, 2012). These assumptions include all officers having a full understanding of key definitions and terms related to cybercrime, having knowledge of the required routes for investigation and evidence gathering, and of there being effective training in place which supports officers in advising (potential) victims as to the best course of action (Holt & Bossler, 2012). Officers drew attention to the ineffectiveness of current training provision
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