Welcome to our blog, Law Enforcement on the Internet. I find this a very interesting subject, filled with many different issues. Over the last few years, the Internet has both helped and hindered law enforcement. It has certainly made communication between departments and agencies faster and more efficient. Of course, there is a cost associated with updating federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies with newer technology - a cost that is borne by us, the taxpayers.
Cost isn’t the only issue associated with how law enforcement functions in the age of the Internet. Previously, various agencies determined jurisdiction, or territory in which power can be exercised, by geographic location. But now, it is harder to determine where a crime takes place. Take wire fraud, for example: does the crime occur where the perpetrator is located? Where the victim is located? Where the victim’s servers are located?
These are just a few of the issues we hope to address in our blog and our class presentation. We hope to be able to present some of these issues using real-life examples of current events in order to keep it interesting, and we will respond to any questions or comments you have. Thanks for reading!
- Richard