US cybercrime units on the world wide web

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to quantify the number of cybercrime units that are on the world wide web and the manner in which they represent themselves, and to clarify how they are communicating information to their constituency (i.e. the visitors to their site) through new technology.

Design/methodology/approach

There is no sampling frame that serves as an exhaustive list of law enforcement departments with web sites, nor law enforcement departments with computer crime units, nor law enforcement departments with cybercrime unit web sites. As such, the world wide web was combed using popular search engines to find as many US‐based cybercrime unit web sites as possible. The final sample size was 88.

Findings

The findings suggest that though cybercrime units across the USA typically have similar missions (e.g. to respond to one or more forms of computer crime), they used their self‐representing web site in different ways. Beyond providing basic contact information and details about the cybercrime unit, web sites varied considerably in the depth and nature of their content. Units largely utilized these sites to simply exist on the world wide web. It was also unclear whether the sites actually fostered two‐way communication between agencies and their constituents. Sites also placed an emphasis on providing information that visitors might use to reduce their vulnerability to victimization through educational efforts.

Research limitations/implications

The sites in the sample all sought to inform their constituencies about the existence of the cybercrime unit they represent and the services they render, and to provide basic contact information. They seemingly differed, though, in the main intent and purpose of their site – which introduced variability in terms of the delivery of their content. Furthermore, disparities in available resources likely dictated the quality and depth of information presented on these sites.

Practical implications

This work assesses the current state of law enforcement information delivery over the world wide web, and also informs best practices in quality, depth, and comprehensiveness of that information delivery. This can then be used by law enforcement departments who have a cybercrime unit web site to improve its current state and fine‐tune communications and information dissemination efforts.

Originality/value

This is the first assessment of the world wide web presences of US law enforcement cybercrime units and contributes to the knowledgebase associated with agency communication with external entities.

Citation

Hinduja, S. and Schafer, J.A. (2009), "US cybercrime units on the world wide web", Policing: An International Journal, Vol. 32 No. 2, pp. 278-296. https://doi.org/10.1108/13639510910958181