Plan
of Action Against Offenders in Regards to Technology and Community
Leslie
K. Penny
Module
7 Written Assignment 3
Chancellor
University
Plan
of Action Against Offenders in Regards to Technology and Community
There are many types of criminal offenders that use
computers for a variety of reasons to portray their brand of criminality but
this writer wants to concentrate on one particular offender. And that is of those that are sex offenders
that use the internet to find their victims. It is of the upmost importance to protect
members of our society, especially our precious youth, from online sexual
offenders who prey on them. The article,
Computer Crime in the 21st Century and
Its Effect on the Probation Officer, co written by Arthur L. Bowker and
Gregory B. Thompson, along with other sources, will be used to draw up a plan
that can be utilized to manage the computer risk posed by sexual offenders that
are supervised in our community.
Many people would cry keep sex offenders away from
computers completely and it does sounds like an easy cure all. But Bowker and Thompson made a good point in
their article, access to a computer can't be narrowed down just to the typical
desktop and laptop anymore. Computers are
all around us. A sex offender can access the internet via their cell phone, a
tablet, an e-reader device such as a Kindle, even handheld games like Nintendo
DS have access to the internet. A
probation officer would have a very hard time expressing exactly "what is
allowed and what is not allowed" (Thompson, 2001).
A sex offender on probation would have to literally be baby sat 24 hours
a day to allow for such restriction of internet use as some would like.
Which brings us to another point. What about work related computer use or a sex
offender getting their degree online?
Should an offender be restricted to a certain type of job while on probation
because they have been banned from any computer use? Should an offender put any plans for an
education on hold because they can't access their classes? As Bowker and Thompson point out, a judge may
not deem it necessary or allow to completely prohibit an offenders access to
all computers, meaning a probation officer will have to work around that obstacle
(Thompson, 2001).
The unfortunate side affect we
get when sex offenders do violate their probation by using the internet is
potential harm to our community and a "substantial risk to proper treatment
and containment of sex offenders" (Tanner, 2005).
Fortunately, there are several steps a probation officer
can take to help prevent, as much as possible, any harm coming to the community
from a sex offenders. According to
Tanner's article referenced above along with Bowker and Thompson, who's article
demonstrates the same goals, an effective management strategy includes "1)
understanding the reasons for computer management, 2) establishing clear
conditions that are computer specific, 3) Conducting an intake early in
supervision, 4) installing monitoring software and 5) monitoring the computer
frequently" (Tanner, 2005).
It was expressed in Bowker and Thompsons article the importance of the
intake process by interviewing third party individuals who "may reveal how
the computer was misused during the offense" (Thompson, 2001) and may lead to further evidence of any
current parole violations.
The importance for managing a sex offenders computer is
three fold. First off it allows
probation officers a base line to go off of as to the extent of the sex
offenders actions, a history, so to speak.
This allows for the gathering of evidence of any new criminal acts that
would violate a sex offenders probation, allows probation officers to
"provide proper supervision and containment of the sex offenders"
and, lastly, it assists the officer in knowing the intensity of the sex
offenders sexual interest for treatment purposes and provides a pattern the
officer can be looking for (Tanner, 2005).
It is important that a probation officer "be qualified to conduct
an educated assessment of a computer offender before he/she makes a
recommendation for special conditions" (Thompson, 2001) such as those in regards to online
sexual offenders.
The next step can be considered a hard one to ensure and
that is establishing specific guidelines and conditions that are clearly stated
and explained to limit a sex offenders chances for wiggle room. Tanner's article states the importance of the
wording of conditions set forth to "avoid violations of the rights
afforded offenders under the Construction and the Electronic Communications
Privacy Act" and in a sex offenders case "conditions should clearly
prohibit use of the internet to access sexual content of any nature and in any
form, use of web based email programs which provide anonymity, use of
encryption and/or password protection of data, destroying or altering computer
use records, cleaning or wiping hard drives, and the use of anti-forensic
software" (Tanner, 2005).
Bowker and Thompson provided a very useful list of suggested computer
conditions to use when establishing conditions such as having to "provide
your probation officer accurate information about your entire computer system
and software; all passwords used by you; and your Internet Service Provider"
(Thompson, 2001).
Having monitoring software installed on a sex offenders
computer once it has been cleaned and then monitoring the sex offenders
computer (s) frequently (Tanner, 2005) by "conducting periodic
unannounced examinations of your computer(s) equipment which may include
retrieval and copying of all memory from hardware/software to ensure compliance
with this condition and/or removal of such equipment for the purpose of
conducting a more thorough inspection; and consent at the direction of your
probation officer to having installed on your computer(s), at your expense, and
hardware or software systems to monitor your computer use or prevent access to
particular materials" with the consent of the sex offender as part of
their probation (Thompson, 2001).
With the advancements we make in our technology,
offenders aren't far behind. And
probation officers need to be ahead of the game with continual updated
training. Having a plan set up to manage
the computer risk posed by sex offenders is a must. As mentioned earlier, banning a sex offender
from all internet use is not practical, mainly where employment is concerned,
which is why monitoring software is so useful.
Forensic specialist just cannot handle the volume of personally
monitoring sex offenders along with all the other cyber criminals out there, so
monitoring software is a must when incorporating management plan. Along with the other steps mentioned
throughout this essay, a probation officer should have a satisfactory game plan
in the probation of sex offenders.
Works Cited
Tanner, J. (2005). Rethinking Computer Management
of Sex Offenders Under Community Supervision. Retrieved 12 16, 2012, from
KBSolutions Inc.: http://www.kbsolutions.com/rcm.pdf
Thompson,
A. L. (2001). Computer Crime in the 21st Century and its Effect on the
Probation Officer. Federal Probation , 18-24.
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