High Volume Cyber Crime and the Organization of the Police: The results of two empirical studies in the Netherlands

The question that is central in this paper is: to what extent is the Dutch police organization able to effectively combat high volume cyber crime? First we focus on the definition of cyber crime in the Netherlands. Next, we examine the criminalization of the two most common cyber crimes in the Netherlands: hacking and e-fraud. After that, based on police records, we analyze the nature of these crimes. Thereafter, we will look at the functioning of the Dutch police regarding cyber crime. What are the strengths and weaknesses of their handling of cyber crimes? We conclude that the Dutch police are insufficiently organized to combat cyber crime. The lack of priority and proper capacity throughout the entire police organization to fight digital crimes results in cyber cases never entering the criminal justice system or leaving the criminal justice process early.