Examining the victim-offender overlap for both cybercrime and non-cybercrime offenses

• In Event: Assessing Cybercrime Offending, Victimization, and the Law Enforcement Response

Abstract

Cybercrimes occur in a digital context where there is no physical real-time interaction between victims and offenders. One of the most robust findings from research on traditional, non-cybercrime incidents is that there is a strong relationship between offending and victimization, referred to as the victim-offender overlap. This is mostly explained by shared risk factors including risky routine activities, deviant peer associations, and low self-control. It is unclear to what extent the co-occurrence of offending and victimization is also present in cybercrime and to what extent this cyber-victim-offender overlap can be explained by the same routine activities and personal characteristics identified in research on traditional offenses. Is this study we use a high risk sample of cybercrime and non-cybercrime suspects to compare and explain the victim-offender overlap for both virtual and real world crimes.

Author

• Marleen Weulen Kranenbarg, NSCR (Netherlands Institute for the Study of Crime and Law Enforcement)