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Johnston, David --- "Disruption of crime and the use of intelligence" [2015] ELECD 1429; in Rider, Barry (ed), "Research Handbook on International Financial Crime" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2015) 638

Book Title: Research Handbook on International Financial Crime

Editor(s): Rider, Barry

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781783475780

Section: Chapter 52

Section Title: Disruption of crime and the use of intelligence

Author(s): Johnston, David

Number of pages: 9

Abstract/Description:

Far-reaching changes need to be made in the way law enforcement agencies access intelligence and disrupt crime because cyberspace means that the traditional approach that has served so well for more than 40 years is no longer fit for purpose. Since the early 1970s, ‘intelligence led policing’ and Problem Oriented Policing (POP) have provided the model for tackling criminality in most western countries. The problem is that these models rely on the localized nature of the relationship between the victim, the location and the offender. The development of the internet and the ability of criminals to commit crime from great distances, often beyond the jurisdiction of the victim and local law enforcement agencies, are testing the traditional model of combating crime. This development has major implications for the way law enforcement agencies address all types of environmental and situational crime including economic crime. The growing reliance by society on the ‘internet of things’ world is arguably having a greater impact on less tangible concepts like economic crime than on ‘real world’ property or location crimes such as robbery or burglary. Moreover, the increased societal use of the internet has much wider implications that significantly challenge sovereign nations and governments as their laws prove to be inadequate for making timely interventions against criminals or for allowing disruption to their activities online.