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

When discussing criminal justice and cybercrime, it is hard to make distinctions in many different areas. As technology has progressed, so has every other discipline surrounding technology. Traditional crimes that were taking place in the physical realm are now able to be conducted faster and easier with the use of technology via the Internet and other mediums. This has led to the growth of what we now call cybercrime. “One of the strengths of criminology is being able to define crime in its various forms” (Payne, 2019). What is important to note from this is that while many other forms of crime have been defined, defining cybercrime still remains an issue in multiple disciplines. To define cybercrime, one must consider an extensive list of different types of cybercrime such as defining it from a harm orientation, from an ethical orientation, from a social constructionist perspective, from a deviance perspective, and many other perspectives. In order to help define cybercrime, criminologists spend a good amount of time on explaining different human behaviors. The Neutralization theory is a good example of this where essentially the individual(s) know right from wrong but they try to rationalize their behavior in order to justify why they committed the crime that they did. Not only do criminal justice programs have to figure out how to define some of these new areas within cybercrime, they have to figure out multiple other factors. These factors could include identifying different strategies, measuring victimization and offending within cyber space, developing future employees with experience, and developing and researching more in relation to digital forensics and law. Cybercrime relates directly to all of these factors and the overlap is seen within law-making and different criminal justice procedures. While it is clear that all of these disciplines overlap and need to be focused on, it is important to note that only around one fifth of criminal justice programs include the integration of cybercrime studies and vice versa. Moving forward, it is essential to focus on all of the disciplines to help broaden our current understanding of navigating criminal justice within cyberspace. 

Payne, B. K., & Hadzhidimova, L. (2019). Cybersecurity and Criminal Justice: Exploring the Intersections.