Tags: Crime, Cybercrime, Policing, Justice system, Internet, Incidence mapping

Policing practices are often shaped by incident reports and evidence of shifting patterns of crime. This makes the collection and analysis of crime statistics of great value. Cybercrime is no exception. Statistics are being collected on cybercrime by police forces and private bodies around the world. However, the distributed nature of the Internet makes it challenging to examine the specific geographies of cybercrime. Given the comparatively recent rise of criminal threats online, there are few agreed standards over the best ways to map and measure the nature and incidence of crimes perpetrated over the Internet. As with other crime, there can be disincentives to report cybercrime, such as fears that reports could undermine public confidence in a business enterprise, but also incentives to over report, such as to grab headlines.

Mapping and measuring cybercrime.pdf