Assessing law enforcement preparedness to address Internet fraud

Recent societal concern regarding computer crime was well documented in the research literature. To date, however, modest research addressed how large, local police and sheriff's departments confront Internet fraud. Using data collected from surveys distributed to the seven hundred largest police- and sheriff's departments, the present article addresses law enforcement: (1) preparedness to enforce Internet fraud crimes; (2) perceptions of Internet fraud; (3) cooperative policing efforts; and (4) Internet fraud information dissemination practices. Among other things, results suggested that individuals within these departments believed Internet fraud was problematic, although they lacked the resources to properly address the problem. These results are discussed as they relate to the organizational design of law enforcement agencies and their potential to adapt to innovative crimes. Suggestions are offered for a more effective approach to confronting Internet fraud. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.