2018/05/21 by Thomas J. Holt, Russell Brewer, Andrew Goldsmith · 2 citations
Computer Science · Environmental Science · Social Sciences · #Computer science #Computer security #Crime Patterns and Interventions #Criminal justice #Criminology #Cybercrime #Cybercrime and Law Enforcement Studies #Deterrence (psychology) #Injustice #Law #Law enforcement #Political science #Scholarship #Sociology #Wildlife Conservation and Criminology Analyses
paper · doi:10.1080/01639625.2018.1472927
crossref issued 2018/05/21 · crossref published 2018/05/21 · crossref published-online 2018/05/21 · openalex publication_date 2018/05/21 · crossref created 2018/05/21 · crossref published-print 2019/09/02 · crossref deposited 2024/07/06 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · crossref indexed 2026/07/31 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/31
Over the past several decades, criminological scholarship has increasingly focused on the problem of cybercrime including technology-enabled offending. Theoretical developments that account for these offences have not grown in tandem, leading to questions as to the nature of cybercriminality relative to traditional forms of offending. Recently, Goldsmith and Brewer proposed the conceptual framework of digital drift, extending elements of Matza’s original theories to the virtual environment. While making a useful contribution to the theorization of cybercrime, we argue that further elements of Matza’s original work also warrant consideration. In particular, we acknowledge the role of policing and the criminal justice system in affecting offender perceptions and decision-making. As such, this article extends the theorizing around digital drift to incorporate the ways that offender views are shaped in reaction to the law enforcement and industry responses to cybercrime. The implications of this extension are discussed in depth.