Exploring police-reported cybercrime in Canada. variation and correlates

• Date: 17 March 2020
• Published date: 17 March 2020
• Pages: 35-48
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/PIJPSM-08-2019-0128
• Author: James Popham,Mary McCluskey,Michael Ouellet,Owen Gallupe
• Subject Matter: Public policy & environmental management,Policing,Criminal justice,Juvenile/youth crime,Police studies,Health & social care,Criminology & forensic psychology,Criminology & criminal justice

Exploring police-reported

cybercrime in Canada

variation and correlates

James Popham, Mary McCluskey and Michael Ouellet

Department of Criminology, Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, Canada, and

Owen Gallupe

Department of Sociology and Legal Studies, University of Waterloo,

Waterloo, Canada

Abstract

Purpose –Police-reported incidents of cybercrime appear to vary dramatically across Canadian municipal

police services. This paper explores cybercrime reporting by police services in eight of Canada’s largest

municipalities,assessing (1) variation over time; (2) variation across jurisdictions; and (3) correlates of reporting

volumes.

Design/methodology/approach –Data was collected from a combination of national Uniform Crime Report

statistics and annual reports by police services. Two repeated one-way ANOVA tests and a Pearson’sr

correlation matrix were used to assess variation and correlation.

Findings –Findings suggest that police-reported cybercrime varies significantly across jurisdictions but not

over time. Moreover, negative relationships were observed between police-reported cybercrime incidents per

100,000 residents and calls for service per 100,000, as well as number of sworn officers per 100,000.

Research limitations/implications –The study assessed a small sample of cities (N58) providing 32 data

points, which inhibited robust multivariate analyses. Data also strictly represents calls to police services,

therefore excluding alternative resolutions such as public–private interventions.

Practical implications –Canadian provincial and federal governments should consider engaging in high-

level talks to harmonize cybercrime reporting strategies within frontline policing. This will mitigate disparity

and provide more accurate representations of cybercrime forfuture policy development. Additionally, services

should revisit internal policies and procedures, as it appears that cybercrime is deprioritized in high call volume

situations.

Originality/value –This paper introduces previously unreported data about police-reported cybercrime

incidents in Canada. Furthermore, it adds quantitative evidence to support previous qualitative studies on

police responses to cybercrime.

Keywords Police-reported cybercrime, Canada, Municipal police services, UCR, Police resourcing

Paper type Research paper

Introduction

Recent studies have demonstrated that cybercriminality is subsuming a growing proportion

of property and interpersonal crimes (Tcherni et al., 2016;Loveday, 2017), yet cybercrimes

targeting end users remain largely underreported to police by victims and by police services

in official statistics (e.g. Bidgoli and Grossklags, 2016;Ibrahim, 2016;Harkin et al., 2018). This

trend carries over to Canada where police-reported cybercrime occurrences are recorded at

comparatively low levels, while also varying across time, jurisdiction, and type. Statistical

inconsistencies here pose a significant problem as these official statistics, aggregated at a

national level, are often used to inform policy development and inform the public about

indicators of police effectiveness (McCormick et al., 2013;Haggerty, 2001). The gulf between

official statistics on cybercrimes and their estimated true prevalence imposes barriers to

improved responsivity by masking the scope of cybercriminality, its financial and social

impacts, and victimization patterns (Bidgoli and Grossklags, 2016). A general lack of

awareness extending from these barriers may also contribute toward desultory perspectives

on cybercrime victimization by law-enforcement officers, which in turn drive underreporting

Police-reported

cybercrime in

Canada

35

The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:

https://www.emerald.com/insight/1363-951X.htm

Received 1 August 2019

Revised 7 November 2019

12 December 2019

Accepted 13 December 2019

Policing: An International Journal

Vol. 43 No. 1, 2020

pp. 35-48

© Emerald Publishing Limited

1363-951X

DOI10.1108/PIJPSM-08-2019-0128