What is the overlap between criminal justice and cybercrime? How does this overlap relate to the other disciplines discussed in this class?

Technological advancements have made it easier for people across the globe to connect with one another. Subsequently however, those same advancements have made it easier for criminals to commit fraud, identity theft, and other cybercrime. Cybercrime is a relatively new form of crime and thus there is a need for criminal justice scholars to overlap their understanding of law and criminal behavior with that of theories of cybersecurity, psychology and sociology to further develop concepts and definitions that allow for a better understanding of this new criminal behavior so that it can be investigated and prosecuted efficiently and fairly. 

Doing so has allowed criminal justice scholars to contribute official definitions of cybercrime, as well as provide important insight into the correlation between certain criminal behavior and cybercrime. Concepts such as “neutralization theory, self-control theory, learning theory, and routine activities theory” are products of this combination of disciplines and seek to provide an understanding of why certain people commit crime and how they justify their actions (Payne & Hadzhidimova). If criminal justice agencies are able to understand criminal behavior and why they do what they do, they may be able to prevent certain cybercrime from happening. 

To further understand, investigate and prevent cybercrime, a new discipline, called digital forensics, and education institutions’ cybercrime study programs are being expanded upon (Payne & Hadzhidimova). While criminal justice agencies are not unfamiliar with forensics, digital forensics is a subfield that specifically investigates cybercrime. Institutions like Interpol state that the main goal of digital forensics is “to extract data from the electronic evidence, process it into actionable intelligence and present the findings for prosecution (CITE – Interpol). Colleges and universities are also recognizing the need and interest in learning more about cybercrime and are expanding upon their current programs to include studying cybercrime as to help future criminal justice majors prepare for investigating and preventing this new type of crime. 

Digital Forensics. INTERPOL. (n.d.). Retrieved April 22, 2023, from https://www.interpol.int/en/How-we-work/Innovation/Digital-forensics

Payne, B. K., & Hadzhidimova, L. (n.d.). Cybersecurity and Criminal Justice: Exploring the Intersections. International Journal of Criminal Justice Sciences.