There are various theories of several criminologists on cyber crime who have attempted to understand criminal behavior in cyber space by examining the causes for which criminals are involved in delinquent behaviour in cyberspace and also they have approached to develop effective legal principles for the prevention and control of these type deviant behaviours of cyber criminals.
For this, there are three main branches of criminal science, firstly, Criminology is the main branch of criminal science which deals with causes of crime and also deals whether an atomic structure, social surrounding circumstances or genetic history; which are the contributory factor for crime commission. Secondly, Penology is the other branch of criminal science which deals with theories of punishment, whether preventive theory, rehabilitative theory, deterrent theory, reformative theory, treatment and correction theory which will be proper contemporary social scenario to reduce crime rate. Thirdly, Criminal law is the last branch of criminal science which is the substantive law and defines crimes and prescribes punishments e.g., the Indian Penal Code 1860 for the commission of wrongful act which are prohibited by law and against the public policy. The various theories of criminal behaviour in cyberspace are explained as under:
1. Differential Association Theory
This theory is based on the principle that contemporary society contains numerous conflicting structures of norms and behaviours as described by Edwin Sutherland in his book ‘Principles of Criminology’ in the year 1947. This theory mainly deals with the conflicting definitions of appropriate behaviour which are the contributory factor of several crimes. People through communication with other learn certain behaviour those may be criminal or sober. When they learn criminal behaviour from their intimate groups through communication they generally use the same and in this way commit similar crimes. According to this theory individuals mainly learn through interaction with others the values, attitudes, techniques and motives for criminal behaviour. This theory is mainly discussed about the theories of deviance and also focuses on how they learn to become criminals. In the contemporary time period there are so many hi-tech society and now-a-days it very common to see cyber criminal groups. In the year 1993, it was rightly said by R. Blackburn that the behaviours of an individual is influenced by peer pressures and peer attitudes. In the year 1989, the same was accepted by C. Hollin in his work ‘Psychology and Crime: An Introduction to Criminological Psychology’ in which he says that persons being associated with the criminals have to be criminal and that they only have to express the favourable situation for committing crime.
2. Social Learning and Bonding Theory
Social learning theory elaborates on Edwin Sutherland’s Differential Association Theory, which posits that criminal behaviour is acquired via intimate interactions with individuals who engage in criminal conduct.
Cybercriminals initially acquire the skills necessary to commit their offences by imitating others, which is subsequently reinforced by those individuals, according to social learning theory.
This theory is also associated with the work of imitation of Prof. Albert Bandura. Social Bonding Theory is propounded by Hirschi who mainly focuses on the influences that prevent an individual from engaging in criminal activities. It explains an individual’s disinclination to commit crime based on their levels of attachment, commitment, and involvement, as well as their beliefs. Unfortunately, in some parts of the world, cybercrime is becoming acceptable as a form of employment rather than as a crime because of the allure of quick riches provided to the perpetrators. According to Rational choice theory which is based on based on a simple cost-benefit analysis that the people himself make the basic decisions whether they can commit a crime or not to commit. This depends on their own will not any other things.
3. Space Transition Theory of Cyber Crimes
This hypothesis was developed by Jaishankar Kumar to elucidate the cause of crimes in cyberspace. Cyberspace offers a novel domain for criminologists. Virtual reality and computer-mediated communications disrupt conventional criminological discourse by bringing new forms of deviance, crime, and social control. Several researchers have attempted to elucidate cybercrimes through conventional theories, including Social Learning Theory, Kohlberg’s Moral Development Theory, Differential Reinforcement Theory, Cohen’s Strain Theory, Deindividuation Theory, Gottfredson and Hirschi’s General Theory of Crime, and Routine Activities Theory, among others. This theory seeks to elucidate the behavioural characteristics of criminals in both cyberspace and physical environments. This idea posits that individuals exhibit distinct behaviours while transitioning between physical space and cyberspace, and vice versa.
The main postulates of the theory are:
- Persons would not be able to commit a crime in physical space because of their status and position but with their repressed criminal behavior they have a propensity to commit crime in cyberspace
- There are various factors present on the cyberspace which provides the offenders the choice to commit cyber crime i.e. Identity Flexibility, Dissociative Anonymity and lack of Deterrence etc.
- The behavior of offenders which is criminal in nature
- Intermittent ventures of offenders
- Closed society’s persons are more interested to commit crimes in cyberspace rather than persons from open society.
- The conflict between Norms and Values of Physical Space with cyberspace
4. Structural-Functional Theories
The key insight of the structural-functional theory is that crime and deviance is a necessary part of social organization. It maintained that society is an organism, a system of parts, all of which serve a function together for the overall effectiveness and efficiency of society. Structural-functionalism is a consensus theory which sees society as built upon order, interrelation, and balance among parts as a means of maintaining the smooth functioning of the whole. The theory mainly focuses on social order which is based on tacit agreements between groups and organizations and also focuses on the views base on social change as occurring in a slow and orderly fashion. This theory also provides us insight understanding that crimes and deviance is not a matter of a few bad peoples but it is necessary condition of good social living. In this theory, Merton tries to highlight a strain between:
- The cultural goals of a society
- The legitimate or institutionalized means to achieve these goals
5. Routine Activity Theory
The Routine Activity Theory was proposed by Cohen and Felson in 1979. They contended that for a crime to take place three requirements needed to be present: a motivated offender, a suitable target, and absence of capable guardians. The theory argues that crime is normal and depends on the opportunities available. If a target is not protected enough, and if the reward is worth it, crime will happen. Crime does not need hardened offenders, super-predators, convicted felons or wicked people. According to him, crime only wants an opportunity to commit. This theory provides us the knowledge about the reason of engaging in cybercrime. By the systematic study we can get an idea that why peoples are involving day-by-day in the commission of cyber crime.
Pratt, Holtfreter, and Reising points out that while Routine Activity Theory suggests that victims engaging in deviant behaviour are more likely to be victimized victims of online auction fraud are typically involved in legitimate, lawful behaviour at the time of victimization. Because of this, simply engaging in procuring items from online auction sites is a high-risk behavior compared to individuals that do not buy items via online auctions. In essences, although it is not unlawful, the behavior of buying items through online auctions is not the norm. Further, since the routine activities perspective was proposed after the introduction of the lifestyle exposure theory and it encompasses not only the theoretical element inherent in the lifestyle exposure theory but also two additional elements, routine activities theory is thus perceived as an extension and more general expression of the lifestyle exposure theory.
6. Theory of Technology-Enabled Crime
McQuade reveals that understanding and maintaining relatively complex crime is initially quite difficult, and there is continual competition between the criminals and law enforcement for technological advantage. As criminals do something new and innovative, law enforcement must catch up in order to avert, control, deter, and prevent new forms of crime. The theory provides a framework for understanding all forms of criminality and especially those that are evolving with computing and telecommunications technology inventions and innovations. This theory help the
society by combining several categories of criminological theories for the better understanding that the computer and telecommunications technologies are becoming more complex and difficult and also the preventive methods for investigation and controlling these forms of crime on cyber space. The theory also provides for better understanding of threats posed by emerging forms of cybercrime and also suggests the methods for criminal justice and security measures for preventing such crimes.
According to McQuade, technology-enable crime theory encompasses that:
- Commission of crime directly against computers and computer systems.
- Use of this technology to commit or to facilitate the commission of
traditional crimes
- Bringing the unique challenges to old crimes.
References
Edwin Sutherland, Principles of Criminology ( Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, NewYork, 1992).
Christine Conradt, “Online Auction Fraud and Criminological Theories: the Adrian GhighinaCase”, IJCC, vol. 6, No. 1, Jan.- June, 2012, available at: http://www.cybercrimejournal.com/christine2012janijcc.pdf.
Ms. Ritu, Cyber Crimes: National and International Perspective, (2017)(Unpublished Ph.D. Thesis, Kurukshetra University).
Fawn T. Ngo and Raymond Paternoster, “Cybercrime Victimization: An Examination of Individual and Situational level Factors”, IJCC, vol. 5, No. 1, Jan.- July, 2011, pp. 774-775, available at: http://www.cybercrimejournal.com/ngo2011ijcc.pdf