Crime in the Digital Age

Willie Sutton, a notorious American bank robber of fifty years ago, was once asked why he persisted in robbing banks. &quote;Because that's where the money is,&quote; he is said to have replied. The theory that crime follows opportunity has become established wisdom in criminology; opportunity reduction has become one of the fundamental principles of crime prevention.&quote;The enormous benefits of telecommunications are not without cost.&quote; It could be argued that this quotation from Crime in the Digital Age, is a dramatic understatement. Grabosky and Smith advise us that the criminal opportunities which accompany these newest technological changes include: illegal interception of telecommunications; electronic vandalism and terrorism; theft of telecommunications services; telecommunications piracy; transmission of pornographic and other offensive material; telemarketing fraud; electronic funds transfer crime; electronic money laundering; and finally, telecommunications in furtherance of other criminal conspiracies.However, although digitization has facilitated a great deal of criminal activity, the authors suggest that technology also provides the means to prevent and detect such crimes. Moreover, the varied nature of these crimes defies a single policy solution. Grabosky and Smith take us through this electronic minefield and discuss the issues facing Australia as well as the international community and law enforcement agencies.