Electronic Crime - its not only the big end of town that should be worried

The permeation of technology into our daily lives has resulted in new types of criminal activity and new ways of committing old crimes. As with traditional crime, fundamental to the apprehension of offenders that have adopted technology, is the ability to identify the magnitude of the incident, assess its importance and response in a timely and appropriate manner. Over the past decade many authors have highlights the difficultly of coordinating investigations in relation to electronic crime. Within Australia several strategies have been developed to assist law enforcement agencies to meet these challenges. The Australasian Police Commissioner’s Electronic Crime Strategy has seen the development of the Australian High Tech Crime Centre at a National level and in South Australia’s case the electronic crime section (ACPR 2001). These initiatives have resulted in the development of a capacity for Australian Law Enforcement agencies to respond in coordinated manner in incidences involving either high value single offences, offences involving substantial threat to life and property, organised crime or terrorist activities. However, much of the focus thus far has been on the development of the capacity to response to serious criminal activities. This paper provides two recent case examples that identify the need for the development of further strategies to enable state based Policing agencies to respond in a more coordinated and timely manner to less serious but high volume electronic crime matters.