The New Face of Crime

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The New Face ofCrime

• Threats and Trends in the 21st Century

Gbenga Sesan Program Manager / Team Leader Lagos
Digital Village / Paradigm Initiative
Nigeria www.gbengasesan.com me_at_gbengasesan.com
United Nations Congress on Crime Prevention and
Criminal Justice. UN Information Centre, Nigeria.
May 5 2005.
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Congress on Crime?

• The basket of negative weights that crime brings
  to any individual, people-group or nation inhibit
  growth economic, socio-cultural, and/or
  psychological
• The rolling effect of crime in Nigeria makes the
  issue a major concern to all especially the
  innocent
• This discussion, among others (and in synch with
  the Thailand Congress) is an important
  opportunity for Nigeria to address this
  hydra-headed monster
• With all the meetings, declarations, drive,
  boldness, campaign and passion, why does crime
  appear to be big business?

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The New Face

• Crime has always taken advantage of the tool of
  the day post, fax, and now the Internet
• Century 21s new opportunities also provide loop
  holes for crime Internet freedom and presumed
  anonymity (free email, chat rooms)
• They are mostly young, wear innocent
  statures/faces, are smart, believe they will
  always beat the system, are proud of their
  mentors, and have many excuses those are
  todays criminals
• New operations mostly feed on greed come in
  deceptive emails, from bogus promises, through
  identity theft, and from anonymous offices
  (cyber-cafes). But office/home-originated cyber
  crime cannot be ruled out

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Threats of the New

• Crime prevention and criminal justice cannot
  afford to be a second behind when it comes to new
  technologies along with legislation, citizens
  value system, and right environment
• With the proliferation of cybercafés, increased
  awareness on internet usage, existing criminal
  tendencies, and lack of precedence in cyber crime
  prosecution, cyber-criminals believe the party
  just started
• For Dale Miskell, cyber crime is the nasty
  underbelly of the Internet (Pete Barlas,
  Investor's Business Daily FBI Agent Led Cyber
  Crime Raid That Broke Big Case In Nigeria.
  Monday April 11, 2005.)

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Cyber-crime flow chart. Owei V, Oyesanya F
NCS-NITPA Annual Meeting, Abuja. June 2004
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An End to Cyber Crime?

• Can there truly be an end to (or major reduction
  in) cyber crime? Are present efforts the way to
  go? What exactly is being done and how effective
  is it? Are efforts networked? detection,
  investigation, arrest, prosecution
• EFCC The unbelievable prosecutions
• NAFDAC New energy, effective system
• NCWG Taking Cyber crime serious
• Nigerian Anti-Scam Network Young and concerned.
  Online forum for discussions, website preaching
  the gospel (Cybercrime.org.ng) and portal
  providing alternative channels (Treasure.org.ng)
• Moving beyond government efforts to MSP models
  government, agencies and citizens

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Conclusion

• The joint efforts of various agencies (and
  groups) working with crime prevention and
  criminal justice cannot be over-emphasized
• Prevailing excuses need a second look Would
  cyber crime truly reduce if every Yahoo Boy had a
  good job or stable livelihood?
• Would a Scam-for-Research model be possible? Just
  like gun-for-food, can young men be made to give
  up scam for purposeful and fulfilling research
  into the menace?
• The basket of solutions being proposed must meet
  technical (data retention), socio-economic
  (alternatives) and psychological (a New Nigeria
  we can be proud of) needs

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The New Face ofCrime
Thank You

• Threats and Trends in the 21st Century

Gbenga Sesan Program Manager / Team Leader Lagos
Digital Village / Paradigm Initiative
Nigeria www.gbengasesan.com me_at_gbengasesan.com
United Nations Congress on Crime Prevention and
Criminal Justice. UN Information Centre, Nigeria.
May 5 2005.