According to new reports by the Central Bureau for Statistics (CBS), traditional juvenile crime is decreasing. However, professionals are apprehensive about a (partial) shift to online crime. Robby Roks, Associate Professor of Criminology at Erasmus School of Law, participated in an AT5 broadcast called De Balie Live Journalism. During the tv-broadcast, Roks explained his findings of the past ten years regarding online (juvenile) crime and commented on some initiatives in the fight against this modern type of crime.
Scams, extortion, fraud, and theft are traditional examples of crime that are also visible in the digital world; Roks says: "these examples used to have an offline component and are traditionally known types of crime that result from digitalisation now also have an online version. It is interesting to see how this has changed over the years."
Low-key crime
A decrease is visible in traditional crime, but according to Roks, it is hard to say whether an increase in online crime is visible as well: "In general, you could say that the role of online crime increases in an increasingly digitalised society. It offers new opportunities and sometimes even represses traditional types of crime that are harder to pull off or are more personal. We can not say for certain that online crime increases. In the past ten years I researched this, I saw an increase and professionalisation. It is active and takes new shapes."
When asked about the accessibility of online crime compared to older people and traditional crime, Roks considered: "In many ways, it is quite low-key; for example, making some easy and fast money is appealing to young people. Online, this is easier, and maybe that is also why youth could be more easily tempted to this type of crime than an adult who might not be as digitally skilled. It is noticeable in the approach that there is a generational cap. Often, professionals who relate to youth do not know what the popular platforms or messages mean."
Generational gap
Roks' findings show that there needs to be more knowledge among professionals like police officers and youth workers about the digital world in which young people spend a lot of time. According to the criminologist, law enforcement agencies have much to gain: "Only in recent years, the police started moving with the digital society and tried to make everyone working for the police more conscious and skilled, but that movement is far behind on the developments of online crime. The police are always a few steps behind, which is inherent to the work, but in this case, the police are not just a few steps but a few miles behind."
Professionalisation
The fact that the police are focused on the issue is a good sign, agrees Roks: "I applaud all initiatives, especially because legally it is complex. The standard-setting by police and justice are good." To make online juvenile crime more apparent and to reduce crime, professionalisation of the involved professionals is crucial, concludes Roks: "All professionals that are in any way relate to young people must be better guided and trained. Regarding professionals' digital skills, there is much to improve and gain in all aspects of the approach for all partners in the chain. Professionalisation should be a significant development, in addition to more powerful tools, approaches and legal possibilities.
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Click here for the entire broadcast of AT5 and De Balie (in Dutch).
