Law Enforcement Officers’ Reaction on Traditional Crimes to Fight Cybercrime Locally

Abstract

Cybercrime has become one of the fastest-growing concerns for law enforcement agencies at the federal, state, and municipal levels. This qualitative case study examined the perceptions of nine law enforcement officers from Texas regarding combating cybercrime at the local level. The study focuses on how do law enforcement officers who respond to traditional crimes describe law enforcement agencies’ preparedness to fight cybercrime locally. Data collection consisted of semistructured interviews, where member-checking helped to enhance trustworthiness. The results from this study helped fill the gap in the literature regarding the unknown perceptions of law enforcement officers responding to cybercrimes at the local level. This study also focused on the behaviors of the participants regarding responding to cybercrimes. Participants indicated that law enforcement agencies take cybercrime seriously; however, cybercrimes are not a high priority for law enforcement at the local level. Participants also provided challenges that local law enforcement agencies face in cybercrime investigations locally.