Contact: Maridith Geuder
Kent Kerley, seated, and Peter Wood
At a time when rates of most crimes are decreasing, computer crimes are on the rise. And, according to a recent Mississippi State survey, state law enforcement agencies feel they're unprepared to respond.
Conducted by sociology professors Kent R. Kerley and Peter B. Wood, the university survey was sent to sheriff's offices in all 82 Mississippi counties, as well as to 22 district attorney's offices and 20 of the state's largest municipal police departments. More than half responded.
A concurrent state telephone survey assessed citizen computer usage habits and attitudes about the potential for being a victim of computer crime.
"We discovered that most law enforcement agencies feel they don't have the resources and training to adequately investigate computer-related criminal activities," Kerley said. Among the most common crimes identified by law enforcement officials were Internet child pornography and identity theft.
Among computer users, a high percentage reported a fear of being victimized by computer viruses, followed by concerns about the security of personal information. Nearly 90 percent also reported concerns about issues of children being able to access pornographic Web sites.
A University of Tennessee doctoral graduate, Kerley is among only 10 invited participants serving on a National White Collar Crime Center panel developing a national survey on issues that include computer crimes, pyramid schemes and fraud, among others. The University of West Virginia-based center is a federally funded nonprofit that promotes increased public awareness and research about the impact of white collar crime.
As the next wave of their research, Kerley and Wood are developing a national survey related specifically to computer crime. "We believe this will be among the first national surveys to address computer crime solely," Wood said.
The MSU researchers also provide lectures for campus computer forensics courses on the extent, causes and policing of white collar crime. Taught in the computer science and engineering department, the classes are related to ongoing activities in MSU's Center for Computer Security Research headed by computer science professor Ray Vaughn.
Kerley, who said he knew since age 10 that he wanted to be involved in something related to policing, offered several observations on how the nature and sophistication of crimes have changed since he made his youthful career decision.
"When you're looking at white-collar crime, and particularly computer crimes, the offender is more educated and clearly more technologically proficient," he said. "It is a skill-based crime."
Rarely is it a victimless crime, Kerley emphasized. "Even if there is no criminal outcome such as identify theft, 'down' time for computers comes with a cost in productivity," he said. "Time is money."
With plans to expand their research through a national survey, the MSU scientists said their recent surveys were undertaken with a goal of developing baseline data about attitudes and issues in Mississippi related to a rapidly growing segment of crime.
"In Mississippi, we've discovered that two-thirds of the law enforcement respondents said they have no procedures or protocols for investigating computer crimes. This reflects a national phenomenon," Wood said. "Technology has advanced so rapidly that it's actually unusual for a computer criminal to get caught."
Through continuing research at Mississippi State and Kerley's work with the National White Collar Crime Center, they are on a mission to alter that reality.
"We know the public has a high level of concern about computer crime," Kerley said. "There has not been a lot of research in this area, and we believe that our research will help determine the extent of the problem and suggest strategies for responding."
NEWS EDITORS/DIRECTORS: For more information, telephone Dr. Kerley at (662) 325-7889 or Dr. Wood at 325-7876.