“A moment’s insight is sometimes worth a life’s experience.”
Oliver Wendell Holmes

Here is a collection of my publications and other resources on crime, law enforcement and criminal justice.

Publications

by Steven David Brown

“Virtual unreality: potential implications of DeepFake technology for the course of justice“ (2024)

in Era Forum: Journal of the Academy of European Law  (https://doi.org/10.1007/s12027-024-00780-1) Berlin: Springer

“The Review and Oversight of Transnational Investigative Cyber Intrusion: an International Convention?” (2023)

in Era Forum: Journal of the Academy of European Law  (https://doi.org/10.1007/s12027-023-00738-9) Berlin: Springer

This article proposes an independent framework for the monitoring, oversight and regulation of hacking techniques used by law enforcement at the international level. Such techniques exert a direct impact on the sovereignty and enforcement jurisdiction of other States, but are currently only subject to unilateral and purely local authorization. Constitutional law at the national level prescribes close judicial scrutiny, but similar controls are generally lacking in virtual space. This article is intended to promote discussion on an area of criminal justice that currently operates in the shadows, but which should be brought further into the light.

“Hacking for evidence: the risks and rewards of deploying malware in pursuit of justice” (2019)

in Era Forum: Journal of the Academy of European Law (ISSN 1612-3093) 1612-3093  Berlin: Springer
Law enforcement use of hacking techniques has become well-established and is an inevitable consequence not only of endemic anonymization used by computer-based criminals, but also of the increasing dominance of cloud-based computing models that challenge traditional notions of jurisdiction. Whilst recognising the many and legitimate concerns of privacy watchdogs this article explores how and why law enforcement uses malware to target criminals who would otherwise operate with virtual impunity

“Insights into Cybercrime and Electronic Evidence” (2016)
Massive Open Online Course hosted on www.udemy.com and by the International Anti-Corruption Academy (iaca.int)
A free entry-level introduction to cybercrime and electronic evidence for all criminal justice professionals who are not computer experts, but who find themselves confronted and confounded by the technological realities of our time.

“Cryptocurrency and criminality: The Bitcoin opportunity” (2016)
in Police Journal: Theory, Practice and Principles, Vol. 89(4)  p.p.327-339 London: Sage
Bitcoin’s distinctive characteristics of decentralisation and pseudo-anonymity are attractive to criminals. This article seeks to demystify the Bitcoin concept and to promote the case for greater awareness among criminal justice professionals and law enforcement officers in particular.

“Combating International Crime: The Longer Arm of the Law” (2008)
Abingdon: Routledge Cavendish
International criminal activity has always had a significant and direct, if somewhat obscured, impact on the national and local crime picture. This textbook maps the practicalities and challenges in making cross-border law enforcement work.

“Crime and the Crunch” (2010)
in Policing: A Journal of Policy and Practice, Vol. 4 (1) pp.73–83, Oxford:OUP
This article considers how organized crime (that operates as a separate criminal market, but also within the legitimate sector by exploiting unique competitive advantages) may be affected by the economic crisis.

“Trading Intelligence” (2009)
in Policing: A Journal of Policy and Practice Vol. 3(2) pp.181-19, Oxford: OUP
In this article, Steven David Brown discusses how criminal intelligence is traded internationally in order to support national law enforcement efforts against increasingly globalized criminal enterprise.

“The Meaning of Criminal Intelligence” (2007)
in International Journal of Police Science and Management Vol. 9 No. 4
The concept of intelligence has outgrown the confines of State activity aimed at foreign powers. This article seeks to arrive at a practical and comprehensive definition for criminal intelligence suggesting it to be a subset of information defined by significance.

“Towards Criminal Intelligence: Data Prospecting or Seeking Significance?” (2006)
in International Association of Law Enforcement Intelligence Analysts (IALEIA) Journal Vol.17 No 1
The author explores the nature of criminal intelligence analysis by defining the processes involved and their application within Intelligence-Led Policing.

“European Intelligence” (2006)
Janes Police Review 10 March 2006, London
There are many myths and much misunderstanding about the role and powers of the European Police Office (Europol). This article considers the realities and helps correct the misconceptions.

“A Police Perspective on the Future of Judicial Cooperation in Europe” (2006) Chapter
in M. Leaf (Ed.) Cross Border Crime: Defence Rights in a New Era of International Judicial Cooperation
London: Justice
The ambition of forging a single centralised polity in the EU implies the closer cooperation between legal systems. Within criminal justice, the intention is to prevent criminals evading justice by exploiting the increasingly open borders, but implies parity and, at the very least, minimum standards of justice and treatment. Are the member states able to reconcile their systemic differences and diverse approaches to achieve that intention?

Webinars

Webinars for the Global Prosecutors E-Crime Network (a division of the International Association of Prosecutors):

“Cloud-E with a chance of MLATS”  1st February 2017
“Hacking the Hacker: N.I.T.s and bits”  12th June 2018
“Platform or Publisher? Exploring issues of liability and immunity of Service Providers”   4th September 2018
IAP members can watch these webinars online by logging into the GPEN website

Interesting External Links:

Association of Certified Fraud Examiners
Australian Institute of Criminology
Centre for Excellence in Policing and Security
Computer Crime Research Center
Council of Europe on Cybercrime
Europol
Financial Action Task Force
Global Prosecutors E-Crime Network
International Anti-corruption Task Force
International Association of Law Enforcement Intelligence Analysts
International Association of Prosecutors
Interpol
Jill Dando Institute of Crime Science
Kaspersky Lab
National Crime Agency
National Police Chiefs’ Council
Scottish Centre for Crime and Justice Research
Thinking About Policing
Transparency International
UCD Centre for Cybersecurity and Cybercrime Investigation
UN Convention Against Corruption
UN Convention on Combating Organised Crime
UN Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute
UN Office on Drugs and Crime

“In today’s complex and fast-moving world, what we need even more than foresight or hindsight is insight”
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