The challenges facing specialist police cyber-crime units: an empirical analysis

ABSTRACT

The growing threat of cyber-crime poses significant challenges for police organisations. This paper presents original, empirical research on specialist cyber-crime units in Australia to report on the issues and problems faced by police staff at the frontline of cyber-policing. Using a mix of survey data and in-depth interviewing with supervisors, key investigators, and civilian staff from two specialist cyber-crime units, this paper outlines the priority challenges as identified by members of these units. While staff report generally positive levels of job satisfaction working in the field of cyber-crime, three major themes emerged: (a) the accelerating quantity of the workload as cyber-crime becomes a bigger social problem; (b) the resourcing of the units has not developed commensurate with demand and (c) the level of skills and training within units are insufficient to address the unique nature and growing complexities of policing cyber-crime. Suggestions by staff regarding how to improve this situation are considered.     

EFFECTIVENESS BUDGETING: THE LIMITS OF BUDGET REFORM

This paper is concerned with the potential for improving public sector financial management by means of efforts to budget in terms of effectiveness. A series of statements are derived from the assumptions of Effectiveness Budgeting to consider what the preconditions for its success and failure might be, in an effort to begin to fill what i s argued to be a void in the literature in the field. Comments are offered as to the likelihood of Effectiveness Budgeting realizing i t s own stated ideal and its utility under less than ideal conditions.