The overlap between criminal justice and cybercrime lies in the types of crimes committed and the terms and definitions associated with those crimes. There are numerous illegal acts that the criminal justice system is responsible for mitigating. Some of the most common categories are sexual crimes, theft, and killing. Any of these crimes can have a cyber aspect to them. Technology can easily be used in the commission of a crime. In terms of sexual crimes, there are cybersex trafficking, child pornography, and sextortion to name a few. According to the Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs, “It is hard to obtain precise estimates of the extent of internet-facilitated sexual offending in the United States…”(Chapter 4: Internet-Facilitated Sexual Offending, n.d.). There is also the issue that the number of such cases far exceeds the abilities of law enforcement to investigate cases in a timely manner (Chapter 4: Internet-Facilitated Sexual Offending, n.d.). There appears to be a lack of viable tracking of sexual crimes that are committed using the internet. This can cause issues when attempting to pass legislation to protect individuals or raise funding for efforts to reduce the number of cases. The lack of tracking might also give a false sense that there are fewer of these types of crimes that are actually taking place.

Another type of crime covered in both arenas is theft. Theft through the use of computers normally comes in the form of hacking or fraud. These have been proven to be two of the biggest money makers of today. By 2015 online fraud exceeded one billion USD in annual losses (Michael Aaron Dennis, 2019). Most of this fraud is committed through non-payment of ordered products or services and/or those items bought that are not delivered (Michael Aaron Dennis, 2019). This type of crime can be hard to investigate and resolve due to the inherent nature of internet business being international in scope, however; it needs to be addressed as it’s very profitable, and therefore, it’s not going away anytime soon.

Crimes involving killing are termed cybercrime in general. These crimes fall under the criminal justice system as several different types such as murder. In like cases, the defendant can be tried for the crime (EX: murder, manslaughter, etc.) without the term cyber ever being uttered, even though a computer might have played a part in the event. The use of the term digital forensics is widely used in place of cyber to describe a more scientific approach to such evidence.

According to the National Institute of Justice, “… digital evidence is now used to prosecute all types of crimes, not just e-crime. For example, suspects’ e-mail or mobile phone files might contain critical evidence regarding their intent, their whereabouts at the time of a crime, and their relationship with other suspects” (National Institute of Justice, 2014). This scientifically backed evidence is crucial for proving a case beyond the shadow of a doubt.

The overlap between cybercrime and criminal justice can relate to many STEM disciplines. The overlap can also apply to business as is most often discussed in Cyber200T. In the circumstance of sexual crimes or crimes involving killing, the use of the science of digital forensics is paramount to a solid case. It is also key to a strong defense. In the case of fraud and theft, businesses must be cognizant of possible and probable threats and the implications of poor network security. Companies should make themselves aware of all available resources that can help mitigate adverse events as discussed throughout the course.

Chapter 4: Internet-Facilitated Sexual Offending. (n.d.). Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering, and Tracking. https://smart.ojp.gov/somapi/chapter-4-internet-facilitated-sexual-offending

Michael Aaron Dennis. (2019). Cybercrime – Identity theft and invasion of privacy. In Encyclopædia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/cybercrime/Identity-theft-and-invasion-of-privacy

National Institute of Justice. (2014). Digital Evidence and Forensics. National Institute of Justice. https://nij.ojp.gov/digital-evidence-and-forensics