NCJ Number
214621
Date Published
June 2006
Length
86 pages
Annotation
This national strategy for combating identity theft has seven components: partnerships and collaboration, reporting procedures, victim assistance, public awareness legislation, information protection, and training.
Abstract
In the area of partnerships and collaboration, this booklet recommends creating State-level coordinating centers to provide crime analysis, victim assistance, statewide investigations, and other services, while promoting cooperation and intelligence-sharing among public law enforcement agencies and other entities that have a stake in preventing and responding effectively to identity theft. Regarding reporting procedures, the booklet recommends that all police agencies take reports of identity theft in the geographic jurisdiction where the victim lives, regardless of where the crime occurred. The recommendation for victim assistance is that all police agencies develop policies for responding to victims of identity theft. The policy should include written standard operating procedures for investigations and helping victims find the assistance they need to resolve the impact of identity theft on financial accounts, credit, and personal records. In the area of public awareness, the booklet recommends creating a national public awareness campaign that features prevention and response techniques as well as the report of identity theft as a crime. The recommendation for legislation is to compile and maintain a comprehensive document that outlines identity-theft legislation for all States and the Federal Government. In order to facilitate information protection, the strategy recommends funding for national public education for consumers and merchants that focuses on information protection and legislation and/or public education that targets audiences for information protection. The recommendation for training is that all police, prosecutor, victim-assistance, and private-sector organizations affected by any of the facets of identity theft conduct an assessment of identity-theft training needs and then seek such training. 30 references and appended identity theft survey and contact information for members of the Identity Theft Focus Group that met May 3-4, 2004