Global Trends in Crime Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Global Trends in Crime - Research Paper Example These crimes have more or less infiltrated all corners of the globe, making the apprehension and prosecution process difficult and complicated to carry out. This paper shall discuss the current global trends in crimes, paying particular attention to the infiltration and increased rates of internet crimes and the remedies which have been set forth by the different governments of the world. This paper is being carried out with the hope of establishing a clear and comprehensive discussion of the subject matter and its impact on the governments and the general population. Discussion With the advent of information and communication advancements, the geographical borders of countries have become virtually penetrable (Rosenau, 1995). The porosity of our borders as well as the anonymity of transactions in the internet has created opportunities for criminals and violent groups, as well as for terrorist groups to expand their operations in the international scene. Government-supported cyber-te rrorism groups in some regions and hackers have strengthened their skills further in the digital world (Comite Europe’en Des Assurance, 2004). With the coordinated processes between organized crimes and the digital world, the general security of the global landscape has been made vulnerable (Williams, 2001). The Federal Bureau of Investigation sets forth that cyber criminals have launched attacks on many Fortune 500 corporations. In fact, based on reports by the International Data Corporation, about 39% of Fortune 500 companies have been attacked in the digital world via security breaches. Hackers have also been known to attack the Pentagon, the White House, and NATO (Lunev, 2001). Attacks on Microsoft have also led to the theft of their secret source codes; and credit card numbers from various banks have also been accessed illegally by these hackers. About 20 years ago, terrorist activities had to be carried out with much bloodshed and physical contact among combatants, and now, the digital world has made it possible to achieve the same ends of terrorism without the necessity of physical contact among combatants (Verton, 2002). Consequently, terrorism has become an even more dangerous practice and the FBI and other law enforcement authorities have recognized the dangers it poses to the general population. Through the rapid digitization of businesses and other political and social establishments, thieves and other criminals have also gone digital with the manner of their commission of crimes (Carblanc and Moers, 2003). These organizations and corporations have been prompted by these attacks to worry and protect the security of their digital networks. But these crimes seem to evolve as the digital technologies are also evolving. Some of these crimes shall be discussed in this paper. Cyber crimes or cyber attacks are simply defined as crimes which are carried out with the use of a computer network (Kshetri, 2005). In general, cyber crimes include critical infrastructure attack, fraud, online money laundering, criminal uses of Internet communications, identity fraud, use of computers to carry out traditional crimes and cyber extortions (Kshetri, 2005). Other cyber crimes include cyber-stalking and cyber bullying. Other cyber crimes are traditional crimes which are carried out with the use of computer networks. Some of these crimes shall be discussed below. One of the current concerns in the world of crime is the fact that it has become even more difficult to estimate the