Cyber-victimization Trends in Trinidad & Tobago: The Results of An Empirical Research

Cybertechnology has brought benefits to the Caribbean in the form of new regional economic and social growth. In the last years, Caribbean countries have also become attractive targets for cybercrime due to increased economic success and online presence with a low level of cyber resilience. This study examines the online-related activities that affect cybercrime victimization by using the Routine Activity Theory (RAT). The present study seeks to identify activities that contribute to different forms of cybercrime victimization and develop risk models for these crimes, particularly the understudied cyber-dependent crimes of Hacking and Malware. It also aims to explore if there are similarities or differences in factors leading to victimization, which correlate to the classification of crimes as either cyber-dependent or cyber-enabled. The data analysis suggests that there is significant applicability for RAT in explaining Online Harassment victimization, while the usability of the RAT for predicting Malware victimization proved to be minimal, with only two significant variables being identified, with both being associated with Capable Guardianship

Examining Cyberstalking Victimization Using Routine Activities and Lifestyle-routine Activities Theories: A Critical Literature Review

Lifestyle and routine activities models are often used in criminological research to examine crime victimization. Routine activities and lifestyle-routine activities theories both propose crime occurs when there is a physical convergence of time and space between a motivated offender and a suitable target, with the absence of a capable guardian. However, crimes committed in cyberspace are without the proposed physical interaction. Due to the emergence of the Internet, stalking victimization has been rapidly occurring in the realm of cyberspace, which is a disorganized environment for crime to occur. In this critical literature review, a review of pertinent research will be detailed discussing the use of routine activities and lifestyle-routine activities framework, the theories’ key concepts and operationalizations used in cyberstalking research today, and the methods and research findings examining the theories adaptability to cyberspace. This critical literature review will conclude with suggestions for future research relating to routine activities and lifestyle-routine activities models on cyberstalking scholarship

Cyber Bullying Among Irish Primary School Pupils

Most research on cyber bullying has been carried out at a secondary school level among older children. Because of the sensitive nature of cyber bullying, there is very little research done at primary school level, however more and more it is starting to affect younger children. As all parents know from their own experiences, children’s lives nowadays are influenced by different electronic communication devices and the Internet. In addition to this, year on year they gain access and own them at earlier ages

Peer Cybervictimization ( Pcv ) among University Students in Bangladesh and Institutional Disciplinary Body ( Idb ) under Routine Activity Theory ( Rat )

Research on cybervictimization of Bangladeshi students is scarce, but the research that does exist suggests a high prevalence of victimization followed by low extent of reporting. None of the extant research exclusively studied peer cybervictimization (PCV) in relation to students’ knowledge of the university authority, hereinafter the institutional disciplinary body or IDB. As per the added propositions of Routine Activity Theory (RAT) (Felson, 1995), the IDB can potentially contribute to guardianship building by alerting students about handlers-managers in the university premises and thereby reduce PCV among students. Thus, the knowledge of (the presence of) the IDB can respond to the expected roles of handlers-managers from a cyberspace perspective. The current study seeks to apply RAT to PCV of university students in Bangladesh and assess the relationship between students’ knowledge of the IDB and their perception of PCV. Data were collected by an online survey questionnaire distributed via email to a body of adult university students in Bangladesh under the convenience sampling method. Findings have bearing on the possible policy implications for the higher education institutional administration to combat PCV in Bangladesh

Cyberharassment Victimization on Three Continents: An Integrative Approach

This article introduces and applies an integrative model of cyberharassment victimization. The model combines routine activity theory (RAT), the general theory of crime (GTC), and the personal resources approach to analyze risk factors for victimization while acknowledging the protective role of a sense of mastery. Survey respondents were aged 15 to 25 years (N = 4816) from the U.S., Finland, Spain, and South Korea. Logistic regression models were used to analyze cyberharassment victimization. RAT-related factors were positively associated with cyberharassment victimization. Low self-control was positively associated with cyberharassment victimization in the U.S., Finland, and Spain but not in South Korea. The sense of mastery was negatively associated with cyberharassment victimization in the U.S., Finland, and South Korea but not in Spain. Protective factors against cyberharassment victimization should be utilized in future studies as adequate knowledge of protective factors could assist policymakers in generating preventative measures against cyberharassment. Our study demonstrates the benefits of integrating criminological theories and protective factors in studies using cross-national data to gain a better understanding of the dynamics of cyberharassment

Cyberharassment Victimization on Three Continents: An Integrative Approach

This article introduces and applies an integrative model of cyberharassment victimization. The model combines routine activity theory (RAT), the general theory of crime (GTC), and the personal resources approach to analyze risk factors for victimization while acknowledging the protective role of a sense of mastery. Survey respondents were aged 15 to 25 years (N = 4816) from the U.S., Finland, Spain, and South Korea. Logistic regression models were used to analyze cyberharassment victimization. RAT-related factors were positively associated with cyberharassment victimization. Low self-control was positively associated with cyberharassment victimization in the U.S., Finland, and Spain but not in South Korea. The sense of mastery was negatively associated with cyberharassment victimization in the U.S., Finland, and South Korea but not in Spain. Protective factors against cyberharassment victimization should be utilized in future studies as adequate knowledge of protective factors could assist policymakers in generating preventative measures against cyberharassment. Our study demonstrates the benefits of integrating criminological theories and protective factors in studies using cross-national data to gain a better understanding of the dynamics of cyberharassment

The Cybercrime Triangle

Information technology can increase the convergence of three dimensions of the crime triangle due to the spatial and temporal confluence in the virtual world. In other words, its advancement can lead to facilitating criminals with more chances to commit a crime against suitable targets living in different real-world time zones without temporal and spatial orders. However, within this mechanism, cybercrime can be discouraged “…if the cyber-adversary is handled, the target/victim is guarded, or the place is effectively managed” (Wilcox & Cullen, 2018, p. 134). In fact, Madensen and Eck (2013) assert that only one effective controller is enough to prevent a crime. Given this condition of the crime triangle, it must be noted that each of these components (the offender, the target, and the place) or controllers (i.e., handler, guardian, and manager) can play a pivotal role in reducing cybercrime. To date, scholars and professionals have analyzed the phenomenon of cybercrime and developed cybercrime prevention strategies relying predominantly on cybercrime victimization (suitable targets) but have yet to utilize the broader framework of the crime triangle commonly used in the analysis and prevention of crime. More specifically, the dimensions of cybercrime offenders, places, or controllers have been absent in prior scientific research and in guiding the establishment and examination of cybercrime prevention strategies. Given this gap, much remains to be known as to how these conceptual entities operate in the virtual realm and whether they share similarities with what we know about other crimes in the physical world. Thus, the purpose of this study is to extend the application of the “Crime Triangle,” a derivative of Routine Activity Theory, to crime events in the digital realm to provide scholars, practitioners, and policy makers a more complete lens to improve understanding and prevention of cybercrime incidents. In other words, this dissertation will endeavor to devise a comprehensive framework for our society to use to form cybersecurity policies to implement a secure and stable digital environment that supports continued economic growth as well as national security. The findings of this study suggest that both criminological and technical perspectives are crucial in comprehending cybercrime incidents. This dissertation attempts to independently explore these three components in order to portray the characteristics of cybercriminals, cybercrime victims, and place management. Specifically, this study first explores the characteristics of cybercriminals via a criminal profiling method primarily using court criminal record documents (indictments/complaints) provided by the FIU law library website. Second, the associations between cybercrime victims, digital capable guardianship, perceived risks of cybercrime, and online activity are examined using Eurobarometer survey data. Third, the associations between place management activities and cybercrime prevention are examined using “Phishing Campaign” and “Cybersecurity Awareness Training Program” data derived from FIU’s Division of Information Technology

Cyber violence: What do we know and where do we go from here?

This paper reviews the existing literature on the relationship between social media and violence, including prevalence rates, typologies, and the overlap between cyber and in-person violence. This review explores the individual-level correlates and risk factors associated with cyber violence, the group processes involved in cyber violence, and the macro-level context of online aggression. The paper concludes with a framework for reconciling conflicting levels of explanation and presents an agenda for future research that adopts a selection, facilitation, or enhancement framework for thinking about the causal or contingent role of social media in violent offending. Remaining empirical questions and new directions for future research are discussed

Criminal Victimisation in Taiwan: an opportunity perspective

Environmental criminology concerns the role of opportunities (both people and objects) existing in the environment that make crimes more likely to occur. Research consistently shows that opportunity perspectives (particularly with regard to individuals’ lifestyles and routines) help in explaining the prevalence and concentration of crimes. However, there is a paucity of studies investigating crime patterns from an opportunity perspective both outside western countries and in relation to cybercrimes. Hence, it is not clear whether non-Western and online contexts exhibit similar patterns of crime as would be predicted by an opportunity perspective. This thesis is concerned with criminal victimisation in Taiwan – a less researched setting in the field of environmental criminology. It covers both offline victimisation (with a focus on burglary) and online victimisation from the aforementioned opportunity perspective. The goal of this thesis is to identify individual- and area-level characteristics that affect the patterns of victimisation in Taiwan. To achieve this, the thesis draws on a range of secondary datasets, including police recorded crime statistics, the Taiwan Area Victimisation Survey, and the Digital Opportunity Survey for Individuals and Households. With the application of quantitative modelling, the thesis suggests that the generalisability the lifestyle-routine activity approach in explaining crime patterns in Taiwan should be taken with caution. The findings provide partial support for its applicability in relation to burglary and cybercrime in Taiwan. Furthermore, the findings reported here in relation to patterns of repeat and near repeat victimisation depart from those observed in the western literature. The thesis concludes by discussing the implications of the findings for academic research and practice in crime prevention