Problems of juvenile psychology of persons committing crimes in the sphere of information technology
Date: October 15, 2003Source: Computer Crime Research Center
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... for their enrichment. However experts calculated that banks would have to spend more than 3 mln US dollars to close 26000 accounts and release new credit cards. It is stipulated by that the thieves had time to distribute through the global net data on several hundred account numbers and credit cards of well-to-do clients.
The motive of computer crimes committed at the juvenile age, as a rule, is to achieve the condition of autonomous viability, overcome the dependence on something or somebody, which is percept as a threat to their existence. Some theories about motivation of criminal conduct are rich in facts proving that under age criminals have a gap in the development, are not adapted socially, inherent in pair, group and irradial conflicts. L.Eron said in his researches that violated children were considered by those of their age as asocial.
"In 1993 "Journal of abnormal psychology" published results of the study of Pittsburg pupils. The researches showed that boys with the most unlawful conduct have the lowest intellect independent of race affiliation, family revenue. This theory is subject to revision because crimes in the sphere of computer technologies are committed by well socialized persons, with high IQ.
The classification of criminals as a rule is performed by three criterions; the scientific prevision (prediction) of possible criminal activity is used. The experts make a start from that a criminal is an individual, unique person. However they can be differentiated by corresponding groups depending on definite criterion, social signs. The most serious attempts to classify subjects of criminal actions are undertaken in six aspects: 1) etymological - problems of forming and developing criminal’s personality are considered, reasons of delinquent development are analyzed (there are exogenous and endogenous factors taking part in the formation of criminal’s personality); 2) characterological - circulative and extroversive types are analyzed (according to the epidotic some types of integrated and disintegrated delinquents can be distinguished); 3) clinical (psychiatric) - the main criterion of person’s assessment - normality and abnormality (mental health, psychopathic, insane); 4) social - attention is paid to the criminal’s position, his relationships in the conditions of the social environment (professional and casual delinquents); the main sociological classification criterion include sex, age, education, material well-doing, social status, family, social origin, social-useful business, line of business, profession, place of residence; 5) prediction - attention is paid to the possible and supposed perspectives of criminal’s conduct with regard for his danger and possibility of his resocialization; 6) mixed - the typology of criminal activities and criminal’s personality(e.g.: predisposition) should be taken into consideration.
Psychological profile of the criminal committing computer crimes should be supplemented with the research of intellect characteristics. Its individuality is characterized by the width, depth, self-dependence, criticism, quickness and flexibility.
Depending on the combination of thinking operations, thought forms and content there are three ways of reflecting reality: artistic, thinking and average. The thinking way is characteristic for persons suspected in committing information technology crimes. Using method of projecting module of signs it is possible to outline the circle of persons involved in the commitment of such crimes: they are actively guided by notions and abstractions; possess an abstract-theoretical thinking. These people are often cut off from the reality; it is important for some of them that their theoretical constructions should go with the logic of their conceptions and they do not care how the reality will response to it.
The distinctive feature of teenagers interested in possible illegal use of computer technologies is a creating of unusual combinations from usual impressions. It is possible due to the reconstructive form of creative imagination, the stimulus of which can be a dream. It combines images of desired future, which are not directly incarnated in these or other products of activities. It can be an element of scientific foresight.
A youthful aspersion for becoming a member of the society usually has success if the individual properties are accepted by group, society. If these properties are not accepted, various variants are possible:
- keeping his position and emergence of unlawful interactions with separate people, different principles;
- changing himself to become like everybody;
- conformism, i.e. external conciliation, adaptation.
Many publications devoted to the technique of creating psychological profile of unknown criminal have appeared recently in the modern criminalistics literature. However there are some negative circumstances in researching this problem:
1. Theory of criminalistics does not have a valuable, complex definition of a person committing information technology crimes. The given category of criminals is studied in the criminal-legal, criminological and criminal-remedial aspects, i.e. personal characteristics of a hacker remain unrevealed.
2. Because of the traditional perception of method of analyzing criminal cases as a way of collecting empirical material, the method of interview at the study of criminal’s personality is factually ignored, in view of existing conviction that it is methodologically insolvent ( or in order to keep secret, not to proliferate criminal technology).
3. Structure of law enforcement agencies does not have analytical center specializing in creating psychological profile of a criminal (hacker).
Thus the most important tasks at the formation of technique of investigating computer crimes are to assure search, draw up search tables, create geographically established module of psychological profile of a hacker, control and register juvenile persons predisposed to committing information terrorism as a way of self-affirmation.
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