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| Supervising Internet Harassment Offenders |
| By Art Bowker, Cybercrime Specialist |
| Published: 12/27/2010 |
The Internet has blossomed into a modern day necessity. However, serious on-line victimization, such as cyberharrsssment, cyberbulling, and cyberstalking can have a chilling effect on a victim’s computer use. The negative impact can be even more frightening when on-line harassment transcends into real world contact. Former Vice President Al Gore observed: “Make no mistake. This kind of harassment can be as frightening and as real as being followed and watched in your own neighborhood or in your own home.” (U.S. Department of Justice, 1999, p. 1)
Approximately 3.4 million people are stalked annually and 1 in 4 victims reported the offense included a cyberstalking act. (Baum, Catalano, and Rand, 2009) Law enforcement estimates that electronic communications are a factor in 20% to 40% of all stalking cases. (NCSL, 2009) Forty-seven states have laws which explicitly include electronic communications with stalking and harassment laws. (NCSL, 2009) The Internet is often a stalker’s harassment vehicle, either directly, such as through e-mails/Instant messages to the victim, or indirectly, by posting false or misleading information about victims in chatrooms, social networking sites, etc. The offender can also use the Internet to influence and encourage others to harass the victim, such as can occur in cyberbullying cases. They can also create bogus social networking profiles, impersonating the victim, to harass or gain even more information about their target. The Internet can also be used to conduct victim research. If the victim has any kind of information that has been posted to the Internet, a stalker can find it. This information may have been posted willingly by the victim, such as in social networking profiles or innocently by others, such as friends, employers, schools, churches, etc. Even posts in chatrooms can sometimes find their way into Internet databases. Once the information is posted on-line it is very hard to contain. Some stalkers have also used computer spyware or monitoring software [i] to track their victims’ on-line and real world activities. Spyware does not require a great deal of sophistication to deploy or use. It is also readily available online for a nominal fee. Offenders can send an innocent looking e-mail containing a malicious program to their victim. The victim opens the e-mail and inadvertently installs spyware on their computer. In cases where the stalker has gained access to the victim’s computer, they may directly install spyware themselves. The installed spyware usually reports back to the stalker via the Internet and the results can be reviewed at their leisure. Depending upon the spyware the stalker may collect an amazing amount of personal information and details from the victim’s computer. Some spyware can capture the user’s web cam activity or even activate the user’s web cam, forwarding the victim’s images to the stalker. Finally stalkers use computers to store their research efforts. Victim pictures, spy monitoring reports, etc. can be stored for ready access by the stalker. In cases were the stalker is under community supervision, this information is easily hidden during home visits, unless of course the officer conducts computer searches. Correctional Efforts Many correctional methods currently employed, such as location monitoring or victim alerts, cannot prevent cyberstalkers from using the Internet to research and/or strike at their victims. Eliminating the stalker’s Internet use or computer access seems to some to be the logical solution. However, such drastic measures fail to take into account how integrated Internet use has become to our modern society. In juvenile offenses, such as cyberbullying, Internet prohibitions can have serious repercussions for their education and rehabilitation. Computer monitoring software, which has been used with sex offenders, can also be deployed to supervise Internet harassment cases. The offender can be permitted Internet acesss but their computer is monitored to determine if they are attempting to research, contact, or otherwise harass their victims. The software can also be used to prevent offenders from online locations, such as social networking sites, which were the harassment vehicle or location. Depending upon the software it can generate an alert to a supervision officers’ cell phone of serious non-compliance. Imagine the significance if officers can be instantly alerted to an offender’s efforts to locate their victim’s new contact information or address online. For the software to be effective offenders must be required to use only a monitored computer. Employers will sometimes allow software to be installed on their computers or have restrictions/monitoring efforts already in place that are sufficient. Likewise, schools can be accommodating. Frequently school services can be accessed via the offender’s assigned monitored computer. Any use of a non-monitored computer without advanced approval should be considered a serious supervision violation. Officers should not depend solely on monitoring software to supervise the risk posed by the Internet harasser. Field work, ie., home/community contacts are still a requirement. Location monitoring, such as global positioning, can also be used to remain aware of the offender’s location in relationship to the victim and also to computers which could be used to bypass monitoring efforts. Officers should also routinely check the Internet for evidence that the offender is using a non-monitored computer. Oftentimes offenders will recycle or slightly modify old Internet Identifiers (e-mails/profiles) and again start posting on-line. The use of polygraphs, a tool frequently used in sex offender treatment, can also be employed to detect if an offender has used an unmonitored computer or taken some action to locate or contact a victim. These supervision efforts also have to be combined with the appropriate treatment options available for dealing with stalkers. Conclusion Stalkers will use whatever means necessary, including the Internet, to annoy, harass, threaten, locate, and/or harm their victims. Officers cannot ignore this reality. To do so places victims and our communities at risk. Computer monitoring of Internet harassers, coupled with other supervision strategies, can help manage the online and real world risk posed by these offenders. References Baum, Katrina; Catalano, Shannan; and Rand, Michael, (2009). Stalking Victimization in the United States. Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs. National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) http://www.ncsl.org/IssuesResearch/TelecommunicationsInformationTechnology/CyberstalkingLaws/tabid/13495/Default.aspx Retrieved November 28, 2010 U.S. Department of Justice (1999) Cyberstalking: A New Challenge for Law Enforcement and Industry — A Report from the Attorney General to the Vice President. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice [i] Monitoring software is used legitimately by parents, employers, and even community corrections officers to monitor the activities of individuals. In such cases it being used with authorization. For purposes of this article, where such software is deployed without authorization, it is collectively referred to as spyware. "Art Bowker has over 25 years experience in both law enforcement and corrections at the state and federal levels. He has been an Executive Committee Officer for the High Technology Crime Investigation Association (htcia.org) numerous times and is also on the Technology Committee for the American Probation and Parole Officers Association (appa-net.org). He has a Master of Corrections degree from Kent State University. Follow Art on Twitter.com at:(http://twitter.com/Computerpo) Visit "The Three C's (Computers, Crime & Corrections)" blog by Art Bowker Other articles by Bowker: |
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