Policing and prosecution of cybercrime

Abstract

Policing cybercrime faces the challenge of determining the authenticity of messages by using judgment, intuition and deductive reasoning. A cybercrime investigation can be seen as composed of a number of discrete yet linked inquiry actions, including active undercover participation, which are directed towards the production of information about how and why crime occurred. Police investigators are concerned with the gathering of evidence leading to the arrest of offenders, as well as the collection and presentation of evidence and testimony for the purpose of obtaining a conviction. Prosecuting cybercrime involves several special considerations: jurisdiction, venue, statute of limitations, and juveniles. In terms of jurisdiction, several courts in the United States have indicated a willingness to assume that a crime took place in or affecting interstate business as long as there is evidence that the defendant used the Internet in connection with the offence.