Moylan, Sarah --- "Book Review - Superhighway Robbery: Preventing E-Commerce Crime, (Crime Science Series)" [2002] JlLawInfoSci 11; (2002) 13(1) Journal of Law, Information and Science 139

• Superhighway Robbery: Preventing E-commerce Crime, (Crime Science Series)

Superhighway Robbery: Preventing E-commerce Crime, (Crime Science Series)

Graeme R. Newman and Ronald V. Clarke

Willan Publishing, Devon, (2003) ISBN 1 84392 018 2

224 pgs, GBP 30

This excellent text provides both a detailed analysis of the criminal opportunities offered by e-commerce and a prescription for forestalling them. The authors’ central argument is that a particular crime prevention strategy, that is situational crime prevention, is particularly effective and is uniquely suited to the online environment.

Situational crime prevention is a crime prevention approach focusing on reducing the opportunities for crime. It may be contrasted with more sociological approaches to crime prevention in that it focuses on the ‘how’ of crime rather than the ‘why’. Typically, situational crime prevention has three prongs: making crimes harder to commit, increasing the risks of being caught and decreasing the rewards for offenders. In Superhighway Robbery the authors identify the specific opportunities for e-crime and posit solutions by adapting common techniques of situational crime prevention to the e-commerce environment.

For lawyers, the situational crime prevention approach to information has interesting implications. For example, it focuses on preventing incidents that cause harm, loss or damage, regardless of whether or not these incidents fit the legal definition of a ‘crime’. The value of this will be apparent to anyone who recalls the ‘bad old days’ before the introduction of data protection legislation or who is interested in the trend for the control of crime to become more a broadly based social responsibility.

A very thorough Chapter 1: ‘Situational crime prevention in the information society’ introduces key concepts, making the rest of the text accessible to lay readers. Chapter 3: ‘E-commerce as the target of crime’ describes the various types of information criminals target and argues that information is the prime target of e-commerce crime. Chapter 5: ‘Risk analysis of online shopping’ is a paradigmatic situational crime prevention case study that drills down into specific transactions, vulnerabilities, crimes and potential solutions involved in typical online purchases. Chapter 6: ‘Reducing opportunities for e-commerce crime’ illustrates how true solutions require more than technological solutions and highlights the value of situational crime prevention in the online environment. ‘Chapter 7: Policing e-commerce’ discusses the many sources of governance and control in cyberspace.

Although the book has a specific e-commerce focus, it has much to offer students of information society in general. In particular, Chapter 4: ‘Information as a hot product’ and Chapter 8: ‘Situational prevention and the “society of control”’ deal with broad and important themes such as the nature and value of information and the tension between personal accountability on one hand and privacy and freedom on the other.

This text is the first offering in Willan Publishing’s Crime Science Series, an innovative series devoted to international research and practice on crime reduction. In keeping with this theme, Superhighway Robbery has an international focus and is of value to readers regardless of jurisdiction. The publishers state that their Crime Science Series will be relevant to ‘scholars and students with an interest in crime prevention but also to the police and their criminal justice and community partners.’ As stated above, some segments of the text would have broader appeal, although readers not primarily concerned with e-commerce crime prevention would be unlikely to read the text in its entirety.

The material is well organised with a conclusion and detailed references contained at the end of most chapters. Effective indexing and comprehensive references are provided.

Reviewed by Sarah Moylan, Research Student, Law School, University of Tasmania