An Analysis of Computer-related Crime: Comparing Police Officer Perceptions with Empirical Data

Assessing officer perceptions and support for online community policing

“…In addition, the perception that cybercrimes go unreported to police was a significant correlate for both the application of community policing online and support for workshops for the general public (Senjo, 2004). The relationship observed may be a consequence of the desire to increase awareness of the problem of cybercrime among the general public.…”

“…The survey instrument used for this study was created using questions adapted from studies focusing on computer crime awareness among the general public (Furnell, 2002) and LE (Stambaugh et al, 2001;Hinduja, 2004;Senjo, 2004). This survey was distributed to all patrol officers at the rank of Sergeant and below in order to capture the attitudes of patrol officers rather than management.…”

“…Officers with higher levels of computer proficiency and who spend more time online may support or be more willing to engage the online community because they might be more likely to see the value of such techniques to deal with cybercrimes (Goodman, 1997;Senjo, 2004;McQuade, 2006). Officers with higher levels of computer skill, regardless of whether they have received previous training, should feel more equipped to receive advanced forms of training and to conduct online investigations themselves (Burns et al, 2004;Ferraro and Casey, 2005;NIJ, 2008;Bossler and Holt, 2012).…”

“…In addition, officers who feel that citizens do not recognize the risks that cybercrimes pose may be more supportive of community policing strategies in order to more effectively communicate these issues to the general public . Similarly, officers who feel that many cybercrimes go unreported to the police may favor engaging the public to ensure that the citizens they serve understand that they can contact LE to help deal with these offenses (Senjo, 2004;.…”

“…Officers were asked a series of questions to capture their perceptions of cybercrime, specifically regarding its uniqueness, frequency and severity (Senjo, 2004;. Their beliefs about the unique nature of cybercrimes (uniqueness) were measured through a single item: 'Cybercrime is mostly traditional crimes using a computer' (1 = SD to 5 = SA).…”