The Impact of ICT in Crime and Policing

Crime has advanced by the use of ICT, credit card fraud has become a very big problem in the crime industry.

Sarah received a call from her bank mid September, asking if she had been to Italy. She had recently been on holiday there, but she hadn't taken her credit card so was puzzled by a transaction from Italy that the bank was calling about. 

This is a prime example of credit card fraud and the bank contacting her telling her the details of the crime committed, card cloning is easily solved by giving back new details.

Hacking is another crime, people hack computer systems, they hack into companies and only recently a man hacked into the FBI.


The advantages of ICT in Policing vary between AMPR (Number plate recognition) to databasing information about people and crimes that have happened. The databases on people and cars store information like the number plates .

The following was taken from: http://www.learn-ict.org.uk/materials/documents/secondary/gcse_it/it_police.pdf

The criminal conviction database includes the following fields

• Name (the one the criminal is known by)

• Real name

• Height

• Approx. weight

• Colour of eyes

• Colour of hair

• Glasses

• Tattoos

• Scars

• Warning signals e.g. do they usually carry firearms

• Previous convictions

• Method of crime

This information is also accessible to Scotland Yard through ICT and  they have it all saved as much as we can access their information.