Criminology

Computer technology and specially internet, has brought about a great impact on the current aspect of the contemporary society. The book being reviewed deals with one very important aspect of the computer evolution and development The emergency of cyber crime and other activities that are harmful to the society that carried out over the internet.
   
These activities have continued to increase because of internet and are posing a big challenge to the authorities concerned as far as their control is concerned.
   
David wall is professor of criminal justice at the University of Leeds in the UK. He has authored a lot of work in the last decades on the many aspects of cyber crime and its management. One of the works is crime and the internet published in 2001.
   
Wall attempts to deal with the several competing discussions that are related to the cyber crime. Media approach to cyber crime in addition to the difficulties experienced in gaining data or statistics on cyber crime need to be addressed first. The writer explains the difficulties that face both the individuals and corporate business in reporting cases of cyber crime and the response from the criminal justice systems.
   
The inclusion of the question pertaining cyber crime on large scale victimization survey (both in USA and UK) is a very recent development. As a result several types of claims concerning cyber crime are open to the challenge and the current struggle to check and monitor cyber crime has brought about varied reactions to such criminal activities.

Prosecutors who try to deal with allegations of criminal activities in this realm always encounter difficulties, since there is no clear distinction between civil and criminal wrong doing.
   
Wall gives a very clear distinction between first generation cyercrime (the use of computers for criminal activities) ,second generation of cyber crimes (use of computers in criminal activities) and third generation cyber crime (crimes that are automated and fully controlled by the internet technology). The distinction between these types of the cyber crime as essentially useful to some extent they are a bit abstract. Wall again goes ahead to differentiate the range of criminal activities carried out on the internet. First he deals with phising. This is the crime of getting personal information online.
   
Secondly is the automated version of  Phising known as Pharming which has received much attention in the relevant time .All in all many criminal activities are carried out in cyber space including misleading adverts, fraudulent actions  and deceptive investment schemes. The Nigerians have come up with an advanced fee fraud. This is by sending an email telling the recipients that he or she can claim a large amount of money usually millions of dollars lying idle in some bank.
   
Intellectual property piracy in many categories is all over. Wall deals with what he calls computer content crime. This touches on phonograph and cyber violence. The cyber space has resulted in the cyber stalking and has enabled asexual orientation on children. The perceived mystery of the victims offender relationship is a remarkable character of this and types of cyber crime.
   
Spam is another issue that has been addressed by Wall. Spam messaging is one activity that is carried out over the internet and far more annoying to all who receive spam messages. In some areas spam messages are criminal offense. It is a way of committing crime. These spam messages are normally solicitations that are source of annoyance and irritation to the users of the internet. With regard to the increasing level of spam messaging it is disturbing that the real culprits appear to be quite small .But there are sophisticated ways that are on the increase of ensnaring the victims. Since spamming does not require direct human contact there are fears that unchecked growth of spam based infections will run across diverse operating systems.
   
The last three chapters deal with the effective measures of dealing with or controlling cyber crime. It is true that the level of individual victimization is often less recognized, underreported and in some cases not regular. The law itself in this case is very insufficient and its jurisdictional scope gives the criminals a chance to do forum shopping. (Wall 2007)
   
Since cyber crime is executed and guided by technological advancements it goes without saying that the fight or policing of such crime will also be done through the use of technology as opposed to normal legal procedures.
   
The traditional approach of policing does not have the necessary training to deal with this type of crime effectively and plays an insignificant role in fighting it. Cyber crime is not fully against the law and disordered as some times it is thought to be, but control in cyberspace is mediated by a complex of different forces(Reid 2008)
   
Some methods of checking cyber fraud like centralized payment systems are to a greater extent very effective but the basic argument arising out of this is how to come up with effective measures of prevention and control that are effective and that do not threaten all the other genuine online transactions.
   
Wall concludes that the cyber crime is leading people to think again about security and privacy issues. Lasting solutions to cyber crime cannot be addressed by technology alone but through a complicated consideration of balancing of social, legal and economic dimensions in a very quick conclusion Wall wonders whether the requirements for a more open internet will set a stage for 21st century witch-hunt. His solution of a digital realism definitely requires a complicated and holistic approach to fight cyber crime and may not be tenable. Although Wall deals with the political aspects of law making in relation to cyber crime and society in which the crimes are perpetuated this is not the main focus of his book. But basically the book lays down the foundation for those who will require exploring fully the political, legal and social aspects of cyber crime. This is unlike Sue Reids book that mainly focuses on substantive instead of procedural criminal law. In some cases Reid deals with principles of constitutional aspects that touch on criminal law.
   
Walls book unlike Reids in laced with high tech language and for a reader who is not interested, it may be impossible to have an enjoyable reading experience although it is quite informative and useful. It basically written to assist people to have the knowledge of understanding cyber crime(2007 p4)  Reids writing style is to the point and generates reader interest though its coverage of crimes such as abortion, cyber stalking, terrorism, pornography, child abuse and domestic violence