Traditional Stalking and Cyberstalking
Mr. Carter is a convicted serial rapist. He would see women at work and follow them to their homes. He used burglar tools to break in while the victims were at work and then came back late at night entering through a window he had unlocked the day before. This was his modus operandi (Howton, 1994). Today, cybercrime has changed how Mr. Carter might have committed his crimes: He could now easily locate potential victims online, gather information about them in chat rooms or social media, and locate their home addresses, all from his computer. Cybercrime has increasingly become a venue for criminal thinking and criminal behavior. What crimes do you see being committed via the Internet?
In this Assignment, you will select a traditional crime that can now be accomplished with the use of technology and compare the two ways of committing the crime.
To prepare for this Assignment:
Select one cybercrime that was once accomplished in a traditional manner. You may choose stalking, extortion, or murder.
Research how these crimes have evolved into cybercrimes.
Consider the planning, research, execution, and cover up of the crime and how these areas have changed with the expansion of technology. Also, consider the scope and depth of cybercrime, in general.
The Assignment:
Write a 2- to 3-page paper that includes the following:
Identify the crime that you selected and compare the traditional crime (pre-computer) to the cybercrime version.
Explain the specific ways in which your chosen crime has changed with the evolution of technology. Include both qualitative and quantitative analyses, as well as statistics on cybercrime versus traditional crime.
Assignment: Then versus Now
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Traditional stalking and cyberstalking are increasingly similar, except online stalkers use opportunities presented by information technology advancement. As more people are using internet technologies for communication, the prevalence of cyberstalking is likely to rise compared to physical stalking. The rising use of internet tools, including social media, makes it easier for individuals to commit crimes, including cyberstalking and online harassment. This paper compares and contrasts traditional stalking and cyberstalking to establish how crime has evolved with the emergence of internet technology.
Cyberstalking and traditional stalking potentiate significant social and legal issues in the United States (U.S.). In 2019, approximately 3.4 million United States (U.S.) residents aged sixteen and above experienced some type of stalking, as indicated in figure 1 (Morgan & Truman, 2022). This statistic suggests a 1.5 decline from 2016, primarily influenced by a drop in cyberstalking, from 1.3 million to 1.1 million victims between 2016 and 2019 (Morgan & Truman, 2022). In contrast, the number of traditional stalking victims did not record significant changes during the same timescale. Stalking is defined as repeated unwanted behaviors or contacts that cause the victims to experience substantial fear or emotional distress Morgan & Truman, 2022). Cyberstalking involves a pattern of insistent and reiterated behavioral tendencies linked to the employment of information technology tools such as tablets, mobile phones, and laptops to cause distress or fear in the victim (Fernández-Cruz et al., 2022).
Figure 1: Stalking incidence by type between 2016 and 2019.
The rise in cyberstalking may be attributed to a lack of a consensus for conceptual operationalization and recognition of the act as a distinct crime or phenomenon. The comparable implications of traditional stalking and cyberstalking make the latter an extension or a subset of the former. For example, traditional stalking and cyberstalking are similar as they evoke negative emotions, fear, and trauma in the victims. In addition, both crimes are executed via intrusive communication or behavioral patterns directed toward the victims (Kaur e...