RT Article
T1 Civilianising specialist units: Reflections on the policing of cyber-crime
JF Criminology & criminal justice
VO 21
IS 4
SP 529
OP 546
A1 Whelan, Chad
A1 Harkin, Diarmaid
A2 Harkin, Diarmaid
LA English
YR 2021
UL https://krimdok.uni-tuebingen.de/Record/1767142595
AB Civilianisation refers to utilising non-sworn personnel to perform certain roles within police organisations. While the civilianisation of policing has been examined in a variety of contexts, it has generally been in relation to attempts to improve police efficiency. The current literature is much less focused on efforts to intentionally seek out civilians to improve police effectiveness, which, we suggest, is likely to apply in the case of police responses to cyber-crime. Using empirical data collected with three specialist cyber-crime units in Australia, we explore the arguments for and against civilianising cyber-crime units as a strategy to improve police capacity, as reported by police and civilian members of these units. We consider these arguments in relation to a broader debate as to whether it is better to improve police capacity by employing civilian experts or attempt to develop greater expertise on cyber-crime among police.
K1 specialist units
K1 Policing
K1 police organisational structure
K1 Cyber-crime
K1 Civilianisation
DO 10.1177/1748895819874866