Cybercrime, Organized Crime, and Societal Responses

This chapter addresses the theme of cybercrime, providing an overall review of the basic definition, legal principles, and responses to this growing criminal justice reality. It systematically addresses the definition of cybercrime, the legal interests protected by Information and Communication Technology and Cyber Crime law. It addresses in depth the extent of criminalization, especially preparation and possession. It does focus on the issue of the challenges and limits of criminal legislation. It concludes with an analysis of the legal demands advanced by the internationalization of cyber crime, a typical characteristic of this type of crime and ends examining projected trends for the future. The chapter is documented carefully and exhaustively.

In recent years it is estimated that at least 700 men and 50–60 women have travelled to Syria from the UK alone to join IS/Daesh. This chapter focuses on young women and schoolgirls who have left their families to join IS. It explores the role of cyberspace in their recruitment and examines their likely motivation for involvement in terrorist activities. It sets out the burgeoning of counter-terrorist strategies within criminal law to prevent and to punish and explores the contrasting protective approach of the family courts.

Study 1 attempted to address the question by comparing attributions, perception, and attitude towards online acts of infidelity of the two set of participants: Those who admitted their involvement in Internet Infidelity (Group A) and those who were never involved in Internet Infidelity (Group B) of Online Infidelity. Meta-analysis yielded two components: Dispositional factors (which included three sub-factors: (a) Strong Moral Values, (b) Religious Principles, (c) Not wanting to Cheat on One’s Partner) and Situational factors (which also included three sub-factors: (a) Fear of Being Caught, (b) Lack of Knowledge, (c) Internet Inaccessibility). It was found that Perpetrators attributed situation factors and non-perpetrators attributed dispositional factors behind non indulgence or disengagement of people in Internet Infidelity.

Study 2 investigates the reasons of perpetrators (Married and In a committed relationship) behind involvement in Internet Infidelity. Findings demonstrated significantly different reasons behind involvement in extradyadic online relationship between respondents who are Married (Emotional Support, Frustration, Boredom) and In a Relationship (Peer Pressure, Desire to Explore).

The transfer of a large part of common and fundamental activities to the cyberspace has made the society of today heavily depended on information and communication systems. It is crucial to adapt laws that will be able to meet the challenges of the new information and communication technologies.

The chapter includes an analysis of legislative solutions in particular regarding fraud and identity theft, including theft or concealment of identity (including an indication of new behaviours related to concealment of identity, such as producing fictitious identity in order to commit crime), fraud (including its ties with identity theft). Under the Polish criminal law, in addition to an analysis of de lege lata, (existing law) the paper attempts to provide solutions de lege ferenda (future law).

The author explains non-applicability of traditional criminal law and procedure in cyberspace. She advocates the introduction of biometric identification security systems, online reporting centres, universal cyber police and “two track” criminal proceedings for cybercrimes. In that regard, the following issues are discussed: Why the existing criminal law and procedure are not an adequate tool for cyberspace regulation? How can the use of biometrics contribute to the cyber security? Is the Internet anonymity a reality or only an “urban” myth? Why are the majority of cybercrimes not reported and how to improve this statistics? How to overcome jurisdictional difficulties arising from collection of digital evidence? How to eliminate cybercrime offenders from cyberspace, at the same time protecting all fair trial guarantees?

This chapter deals with the impact which information and communications technology has had on criminal procedure in the USA. It will not only lay out the framework of laws regulating criminal and national security wiretapping as well as access to stored electronic data in the form of e-mails and voicemail, etc. but also the jurisprudence regulating intercepting communications by I-phones, smart phones as well as the search of stored information in computers and I-phones and even in the “cloud.” Electronic communications have called into question the traditional Fourth Amendment jurisprudence which had denied privacy protection to information given to a third party, such as a telecommunications provider, or to movements in public. But the mass surveillance by the National Security Agency (NSA) and the scope of modern data collection and mining are gradually leading to a more critical approach to privacy issues.

According to many explorative analyses, the more diffused Italian Mafias represent a real global threat. In order to better understand the dynamics of the organized crime as well as its destructive effects on the economic, environmental, and psychosocial spheres, the chapter aims to deepen the devastating impacts upon its victims. The common traits and the specific characteristic of the Sicilian Mafia and the Calabrian ‘Ndrangheta are detected through the group analytic assumptions relating to Mafia Psychism. The contextualized concepts of blood ties, family roots, power, and territory make the Mafias’ organizational culture first of all an anthropological and a psychological identity. Therefore, the identity tools who the affiliates receive allow the generation of a secret and multifunctional brotherhood, exclusively interested in power, and in widespread control of the societies. Finally, thanks to the results obtained from the qualitative analysis of two single cases, this chapter give us many challenges for the future, mainly referring about the need to create models of intervention in support the Mafias’ victims, in order to prevent the risk of psychopathological, relational, and social drifts.

The Social Network Analysis (SNA) is now widespread in the academic community in the study of organised criminal networks. It allows analysing the network as a complex structure composed of actors or entities connected by links or relationships and in which a variety of resources is changed. This method, despite having capabilities and innovations at various levels, also has some limitations that need further attention. Nevertheless, the SNA is still taking its first steps in the fight against organised cybercrime as well as in Portugal. With this in mind, this article describes and analyses critically the usefulness of SNA for the criminal investigation and intelligence, procedural and political levels by focusing on: (1) the SNA in the study of organised criminal networks, (2) the SNA in organised cybercrime research and (3) the SNA in Portugal.

Locating closely with the Golden Triangle, as one of the largest opium-producing over the world, Vietnam has been expanded considerably as transit route for illegal drug trade’s networks to and through in recent times. Approaching secondary data of Vietnam’s authorities in terms of prevention, combat, and drug control during the period of 2008–2014, first, this chapter focuses on analysis trends of two popular types of drugs, heroin and amphetamine-type stimulants, based on the number of drug-related cases in Vietnam, both the number of seizures made and of people involved in trafficking. Second, the study also identifies main routes of transnational drug trafficking across the Vietnam’s borderland with its neighbors. Some of distinguishing characteristics of these groups are analyzed and assessed compared to other nations and regions. Third, the chapter reviews Vietnam’s responses with its viewpoints, targets, tasks, and solutions to deal with this battle. This section also introduces and assesses the National Strategy of Vietnam to prevent, combat, and control drugs by 2020 with an orientation toward 2030.

This chapter presents a detailed description of the government’s response on the reintegration process of trafficking victims. The reintegration of trafficked victims is a central theme on protection of human rights. The government of Mexico has signed and ratified all the important international and regional conventions promoted by international and regional agencies such as the Organization of American States. In 2012, Mexico adopted new anti trafficking law, which was also reformed in 2014. During the last three years, with the cooperation of civil society, the Mexican government has tried to develop effective programs on the reintegration process of human trafficking victims. A lack of coordination at different government levels, including insufficient funding and a poor implementation of the law on trafficking, has weakened the government’s response on prevention, prosecution, and protection of human trafficking victims in the country.

This chapter revolves round the idea that movie and software piracy is rampant in India. Reports concerning India suggest increasing rates of piracy with direct consequences leading up to economic loss. These reports, however, are limited to private assessments of piracy in a country. There are limited resources at a governmental level to suggest the level of piracy. Therefore, piracy as it stands in the movie and the software industry in India must be understood through the lens of private initiatives. Without going into the obvious questions surrounding the issue of methods followed in these reports to the questions as to consistency in relation to the findings, this chapter engages with the recent measures that have been considered in the movie and software industry. Although these methods have been believed to be useful in curbing piracy, their utility can be further questioned in the absence of adequate data about digital piracy. There is no reliable data to suggest and gauge increase or decrease the level of piracy in movie and software industry. The chapter concludes on a note that there is not enough evidence to connect piracy to the measures and the measures to the possible rates of piracy. It is necessary to engage in ascertaining the real dangers and the possible remedial measures to deter possible pirates.

Risk behavior and some violation are frequently exhibited in adolescence. However, according to literature, engaging in antisocial activities among adolescents varies depending on the frequency and diversity of activities in which they participate and, above all, the age of onset of participation and may result in greater or lesser criminal engagement. To distinguish between juvenile offenders apprehended by police those whose behavior leads to greater criminal engagement, associated with persistent criminal trajectories, is crucial to the Juvenile Justice System. The objective of this study was to identify and to characterize groups in terms of infraction engagement in a sample of Brazilian adolescents recruited from schools (n = 133) and judicialized adolescents (n = 60), who answered a questionnaire of self-report delinquency. The Ward and K-means methods of cluster analysis were performed to group the adolescents. The comparison of the groups in terms of education, socioeconomic status, and substance use was performed by the chi-square test. The analysis of variance was carried out to compare the means of the variables used to evaluate the levels of criminal engagement. The results showed the formation of five distinct groups characterized by an increasing level of criminal engagement. The first group was not engaged in any criminal activity, while group 5 presented the highest rate of engagement and was responsible for 75 % of the offenses committed in the past year. The latter group also reported a more frequent use of alcohol (X ² = 10.5; Phi = 0.22; p = 0.03) and marijuana (X ² = 84.0; Phi = 0.66; p = 0.001). No significant differences were found between the groups with respect to education levels and socioeconomic status. Here, the results are discussed and associated with other studies.

The focus of this chapter is on the reintegration of youth gang members in Honduras. The aim of this qualitative research is to broaden the knowledge of reintegration processes and programs in one specific country in Central America, namely, Honduras. A sample of 14 interviews with stakeholders in the field of maras and pandillas is being investigated and the results revealed some similarities between the different methods of reintegration. Our data suggest that a comprehensive process including the family, school, community, and governmental support via social politics is necessary to give the youngster a platform where he can reintegrate himself into society, and refrain from committing any criminal behavior. However, most respondents agreed upon the fact that leaving a gang is very difficult and includes high risks, the most infringing being assassination. Most stakeholders call for more investment in prevention at an early stage, i.e., before a youngster gets related to a gang.

How can the law best balance the rights of citizens to enjoy the sort of privacy envisaged by the framers of Article 12 of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights with the legitimate interests that the state (and increasingly the media, corporations, and other private citizens) might have in observing, filming, and monitoring them? What will finding the right balance entail? Will all people be protected equally? These are difficult questions that admit no easy answers. This paper wrestles with the risks to citizens’ privacy when they are confronted by the new surveillance society, and considers the policy consequences of the choices that they may make.

In Japan, criminology has been an interdisciplinary field since its inception, and it is currently at the stage where the aim is to find a general, unified theory spanning the fields of medicine, psychology, law, social science, and so on. Regulatory science, meanwhile, was proposed (in Japan by Mitsuru Uchiyama) as a way of assessing the efficacy and safety in the administration and health sciences. The concept was adopted by the pharmaceutical community and the administration and has recently formed the basis for an academic community. The direction that medical regulatory science is taking, in particular, has come under the spotlight. Various issues, including those concerning medical care, exist that span the fields of life science and the social sciences of law, administration and policy, with criminology caught between all of these. Regulatory science does not only include elements of law, but also of medicine and economics, making it integral to administrative development. However, modern criminology does not directly encompass the economic or social welfare-based viewpoints. At the same time, the evidence and frame of reference-based viewpoints that are required in the life sciences were lost when criminology was seen as a social science. To what extent can that loss be compensated for if we use an approach rooted in psychology or economics? As part of such an investigation we propose the concept of criminal regulatory science. For instance, we believe it is beneficial to consider how effective the field called “law and economics” would be within modern criminology when we look at it from this viewpoint.

Nowadays, traditional criminal policy is facing its limits and is unable to cope with the rising criminality. Current criminal justice based on repressive approaches is unable to face serious obstacles and problems, namely in efficiency of punishment, poor protection of victims, and slow and overburdened criminal courts. New models of criminal judiciary based on principles of restorative justice have been unveiled while traditional systems of criminal justice are facing a serious crisis. The conception of restorative justice is one of the most modern and progressive of current approaches to criminal law that deserves to be implemented into the Slovakian criminal judiciary system. The author focused on punishments like home arrest, compulsory labour and financial penalty.

This chapter examines the role of the judiciary in keeping law and order in a community, specifically in regard to violence reduction. While most studies presume that a focus on institutional performance is the key to optimizing the judiciary’s ability to reduce violence, I offer a different approach and show that trust in the institution is the critical component. Drawing from Mexico’s 2438 municipalities, I utilize a zero-inflated negative binomial model to test whether institutional trust is a necessary precondition to reform. The results suggest institutional trust should be examined more closely in future reform initiatives.