AGENDAFinish doing drugs

Cyber-stuff

Drug Legalization?

• Pro?• Reduce crime by eliminating “drug-defined crimes”

• Reduce Prison Costs

• Reduce violence generated by black market• Reduce police corruption (?)

• Con?• Increased drug use and social costs• Moral costs

• Practical Problems with Legalization• Which drugs? Who sells? Minors?

Drug Treatment• As with criminal rehabilitation programs, cognitive

behavioral programs have a track record of success• Cognitive = skill and restructuring

• The effect of Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous is largely unknown• Very resistant to academic research

Drug Courts • Started in 1989 in Dade County Florida as a reaction to

crowded jails/court dockets• Spread like wildfire thereafter

• Key ingredients• Team approach • Judicial involvement in supervision (court reviews)• Strong treatment component• Quick processing

Drug Court II• Most research has been favorable

• Reductions in drug use and other criminal activity

• South St. Louis County (Duluth) MN drug court• Reviewed by one of the best bow hunting criminologists in the

country • Significant reductions in felony offending vs. a comparison group of

people arrested for drug felonies prior to the existence of drug court

Theories of Drug Use?

• Most theories of crime can also explain drug use • social learning, social control, strain, developmental…

UMD: Percent Reporting Nonmedical Drug Use, by Type of Drug, Past 12 Months

Prescription sleeping med.

Prescription sedative

Other illicit drug (besides pot)

Prescription pain med.

Prescription stimulant

Any prescription drug

Marijuana

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45% 50%

5.9%

6.2%

10.4%

16.1%

24.2%

35.1%

49.5%

Predicting Use

VariableD.V.: Stimulant Use, Past 12 Months

b SE Odds Ratio

Low self-control .044* .018 1.045 Deviant peers .032 .026 1.032 Moral beliefs -.069* .028 .933 Typical offending .001 .040 1.001 School attachment .003 .036 1.003 Grade point average -.584* .241 .558 Involvement in co-curricular activities

.081 .071 1.085

Importance of academic work .375† .204 1.455 Racial and/or ethnic minority -.485 .389 .616 Male -.134 .243 .874 21 years or older -.120 .233 .886 Binge drinking: 1-2 times †† 1.326** .405 3.767 Binge drinking: 3-5 times†† 1.609*** .405 4.999 Binge drinking: 6+ times†† 1.881*** .456 6.560

Constant -2.338 1.965 .097

***p < .001; **p < .01; *p < .05; †p < .10; †† Reference category for this variable is “none”

Regression Results

IndependentVariable

Dependent Variable

Prescription Stimulants

b(SE)

[Odds Ratio]

Marijuanab

(SE)[Odds Ratio]

Other Prescription

Drugsb

(SE)[Odds Ratio]

Other Illicit Drugs b

(SE)[Odds Ratio]

Low self-control .044**(.018)[1.045]

.043***(.016)[1.044]

.056***(.019)[1.058]

Moral beliefs -.069**(.028)[.933]

-.089***(.027)[.915]

-.105***(.036)[.901]

Deviant Peers .049*(.028)[1.051]

Grade point average

-.584**(.241).558]

-.471**(.222).[625]

Importance of academic work

.375*(.204)[1.455]

***p < .01; **p < .05; *p < .10

Cyber-Crime• Crime that occurs over the internet using a computer

• Cyber markets• Fraud• Hacking• Sexual predators + police response• Development of criminal communities

Cyber-Markets I

• Piracy• Software, Music, Movies, Television Broadcasts, Books…• Requires minimal skill, but does entail some risks (viruses,

lawsuits, etc.)• Estimates vary, but roughly 1/3 of Americans report pirating• Higher estimates among youth, especially COLLEGE KIDS!

• UMD STUDENTS = 62% pirated in past year, 20% did so “frequently”

• File Sharing: Napster Bit Torrents Latest? • Music and video piracy appears to be declining. Why?

Cyber Markets II

• Beyond pirating• Use of legitimate internet sites (eBay, Craig's list) to engage in

crime• Fraud, Sell Stolen Goods Violent Crime, Illicit Sex/Drug Markets

• Use of illegitimate sites to engage in crime • “Silk Road,” Bit Coins, and so forth

Cyber pornography market

• Defining “pornography” has always been problematic• Especially problematic in the internet age

• Other major issues• Access by Minors• Unwanted solicitation• Child pornography

• Federal legislation has had limited success…• Communications Decency act of 1996• Child Online Protection Act (COPA) of 1998• Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA) of 2000

Cyber Fraud• Traditional Fraud Scams

• A friend from Nigeria wished to transfer a million dollars into your account

• Phishing and Pharming scams• Your Ebay account has been compromised!

• Hacking• Major concern with many of these techniques is identity

theft• Use your information to take out loans, get credit cards, etc.

Identity Theft

• The unlawful use of another person’s identifying information • Use of name, DOB, social security number, credit card number…to commit fraud or other crimes• Examples?

• Internet and information age has made this much easier

Combating Identity Theft

• State Legislation• “Freeze laws” – stops access to credit reports• Laws to redact fraudulent transactions from credit reports• Disclosure laws—if your info has been compromised

• New emphasis on information privacy• Risk minimization

• Guard SS# and other private info, look at credit reports, shred sensitive paper, don’t open suspicious email…

Cybercrime Communities

• Anonymity of cyberspace• Deviant Subcultures have anonymous/safe arena to share information and engage in crime• Child Pornography • Drug Distribution

Police use of Internet• Stings/Proactive Policing for Sexual Predators

• How often do youngsters get propositioned?• How savvy are youngsters?

• Ethical/Legal Issues• New Yorker Article (Moodle)• Are these individuals who would have committed crimes without

police involvement?• Many already did (child pornography, etc.)• What sort of sanctions are warranted for these crimes?

Hacking

• Motivations Vary• Fun/thrill/rep/challenge• “Hacktivism”

• WikiLeaks, anonymous, etc• Fraud Scams• Political “cyber attacks”

• Methods• Accessing files/records• “Denial of Service” attacks• “Man in the Middle” diversion