Policing the abstract: Some observations on policing cyberspace

Cyberspace continues to pose significant challenges to policing. The paper's author argues that some of the problems raised are conceptual in nature and stem from habitus: that the police culture is grounded in a perceptual schema tied to understandings of the policing function as being linked primarily to physical/geographical notions of what constitutes territory to be policed. Cyberspace, by contrast, is seen as being fundamentally different or abstract, and thus not a space where normal policing strategies are easily applied. It is suggested that this perceived incompatibility offers a partial explanation for the unwillingness of many local policing agencies to investigate online crimes.