Technology and Law Enforcement

Technology has facilitated wide variety of crimes that poses threats to individual consumers, businesses, corporations, governments and the society. Technology has facilitated crimes ranging from older traditional crimes like identity theft, extortion, and fraud, to newer crimes like hacking and “spoofing” websites. Expansion of e-commerce and the exponential increase in the internet user numbers has highly contributed to the increase in the incidences and variety of technology related crimes. Individuals and businesses that rely on internet, technology, ecommerce, cloud computing and on line storage of information based on sensitive personal data, financial and intellectual data on a property, are the key target for the organized crime groups. Any unauthorized access of a network of computers, denial of service where service or communication gets impaired and disrupted, and the unauthorized data modification are technological crimes that posses threats and challenges to governments, organizations, individuals and society.

Law enforcement officials get faced by significant and growing challenges and threats in handling such crimes since many are effective, malicious and well sophisticated. To any meaningful extent, police and law enforcement officials do not have enough resource, skills and expertise to catch technology crime crooks. With the stirring of the cyber-crime, it even forecasts gloomier days to come as the criminals are getting smarter and better equipped compared to the law enforcement officials. Despite the existing criminal laws covering the computer-related crimes or those crimes perpetrated electronically, new laws should be endorsed to care for the crimes. This is as a result of the crimes and offences being new and arising in relation to the ever dynamic digital age.

Law enforcement officials get faced by the challenge of unreported crimes. Most expert researches show that only one in seven technological crimes get reported to the law makers, authorities and the police. This leads to an inadequacy in the data required to study the trend in technology and crime. Cyber crime and computer crime figures are roughly seven times higher, and this causes inconsistencies and inconveniences in the law enforcement.

Law enforcement officials lack adequate analytical and technical capabilities to curb curtailed these crimes. The law breakers and these criminals are getting smarter and better equipped compared to the law enforcement authorities. Skills and high expertise stay needed to study and investigate the trend on the crimes that get performed in the digital world. The officials should be up-to-date in computer forensic examinations and should be familiar with cyber crime and other related technological crimes. Authorities may be reluctant in training its officials on these skills and expertise thus giving way to the significant growth of technological crimes. This results to a pool of limited, qualified candidates since they lack the specialised training.

Training time duration and willingness specialize in these crimes is also a challenge facing law enforcement officials. To become proficient enough to manage investigations in technological crime, it will take an investigator not less than twelve months of training. The individuals should also be capable and willing to handle investigations that involve technology and highly advance IT skills.

The techniques to combat the crimes should be dynamic and well researched since there is no choice. The epidemic may render the law enforcement officials powerless if their techniques will not be up and into the 21st century. After discovering the vulnerable areas of these crimes, the need to implement information security practices and raising awareness rises. Enormous amounts of finances will get used to implement the information security practices. There may be a need to purchase new software and computer hardware and that a law enforcement authority may not be able to fund.

To become more effective in investigations and prevention of such challenges, law officials should launch agencies that are highly funded. The funds will be used to hire investigators from government and local agencies, as well as federal authorities. The members will share expertise between agencies as well as reporting to central body. Hire staff who have interest to be trained and who are competence.

Adequate response plans should be implemented. The law enforcement officials should gather broad knowledge and recognition of the problem and the training offered to the officials should meet these challenges.