@article{117,
  author = {Laura Huey and Johnny Nhan and Ryan Broll},
  title = {‘Uppity civilians’ and ‘cyber-vigilantes’: The role of the general public in policing cyber-crime},
  abstract = {The distributed nature of the Internet requires that security issues be addressed through collaborative efforts within and across various sets of public and private actors. Drawing on nodal governance theory, this article explores one aspect of the role that the general public can and does play in the field of cyber-security: civilian policing of the Internet. In particular, we examine the motives and actions of regular citizens, who use their computer skills to identify, track and collect information on the activities of suspected criminal offenders. Whereas some groups use such information to engage in vigilante acts, the groups that we study work cooperatively with police, collecting information to pass onto criminal justice agencies. We suggest that these collectives and their members are a potentially useful, if under-valued, component of cyber-security networks.},
  year = {2013},
  journal = {SAGE Publications},
  month = {2012-06-22},
  issn = {1748-8958},
  url = {https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1748895812448086},
  doi = {10.1177/1748895812448086},
  note = {Despite the apparent advantages of civilian involvement in the provision of security in cyber-space, a fact recognized by some police organizations, civilian participation in online policing is not universally viewed by law enforcement as a desirable activity. Indeed, interviews with police investigators suggest that police subculture remains a major impediment to increased nodal partnerships with civilians. While the police cite legal liabilities associated with civilian involvement in investigations as the main issue, the existence of ‘Information First’ policies whereby civilian policing groups provide neatly packaged information to police agencies with no expectation of reciprocation or further involvement undermines such claims. Further, we note that an alternative claim made by cyber-crime officers interviewed – that they receive no significant value from much of the information provided by civilians – has been refuted in media stories by representatives of other public police agencies, citing civilian policing group actions as critical to various investigative successes.},
}