NCJ Number
191847
Journal
Federal Probation Volume: 65 Issue: 2 Dated: September 2001 Pages: 8-10
Editor(s)
Ellen W. Fielding
Date Published
2001
Length
3 pages
Annotation
This article examines the preparation of State Probation Officers to supervise and investigate cybercrime criminals, as well as their ability to provide accurate information about these offenders to the courts.
Abstract
The pre-sentence interview and report is the first duty of the Probation Officer investigating a cybercrime offender. This report consists of several factors. First, this report must give a clear and concise explanation of the motive and means of the offense. Other information included in this report should be a description of the computer equipment the offender used as well as his or her usage. To implement effective supervision of cyber criminals, traditional and non-traditional techniques should be used. Some examples of supervision methods include home and employment contact, surveillance, and copies of credit statements and phone records. Other methods of supervision that might be necessary include random hard drive searches, and monitoring of software as well as use of other information databases. The author believes that the most challenging aspect of cybercrime is speed and change. Some recommendations the author makes include providing officers who wish to specialize in cybercrime with time to keep up with current events, and having all State Districts provide special training and establish specific policies, so that they can keep pace with cybercrime offenders.