Internet pornography, hacking and fraud probed in Caribbean

Incidents of internet pornography, hacking, copyright and data theft and fraud have exploded in the past decade with the advent of new digital technologies like the internet, email and mobile phones.

Yet the notion these ‘high-tech’ crimes are by-and-large ‘victimless’ remains widespread. It is a myth that Rory Field, Director of Public Prosecutions for Bermuda, is keen to dispel.

“We have just had a guilty plea today to a pornography case where a girl under the age of 14 was being used in order to make a film which was being put out on the internet,” he says. “That can hardly be said to be a victimless crime.”

Sinister cyber-crime

Last month Mr Field and his department hosted a conference for Caribbean police and prosecutors to equip them with skills to fight high-tech crime. The conference, funded by the Commonwealth Secretariat, looked at how crimes such as fraud, or online scamming, often have roots in more sinister activities.

“The monies [used to finance] fraud,” explains Mr Field, “may come from things like human trafficking, arms or drug trafficking – or the profit may be put back into those types of crimes. It may even go into terrorist financing.”

The use of technology in the commission of transnational crime can cause major headaches for police and prosecutors worldwide.

But just as technology is driving new forms of criminality, so, too, is it providing police and prosecutors with an expanded armoury. Mobile phones and SMS text messaging, says Mr Field, can betray vital evidence in court cases. It can, he cites, reveal the true whereabouts of a criminal suspect.

Using innovations in technologies

“Not only can we get back the content of texts,” says Mr Field, “but we can find out where the phone was when certain messages were sent, which may provide critical evidence ... The huge benefit is you don’t have to rely on witnesses.”

In the Caribbean, a region with an abundance of sea craft, satellite navigation and global positioning systems (GPS) can track their whereabouts. “A lot of boats have GPS systems on them,” points out Mr Field. “These systems tell us where the boat is at a certain time. That, too, can be used as evidence.”

He adds: “It’s a very different world that we live in now, and it’s very important that the authorities understand that.

“If the prosecution and [police and judges] haven’t been trained and don’t know what they are talking about, then [technology] is just a problem - you are being confronted with new kinds of crimes which you don’t know how to deal with.”

Transnational crime and co-operation

During the two-day conference, held between 28 and 29 August 2009 at the Hamilton Princess Hotel in Bermuda, police and prosecutors from 15 Caribbean countries looked at how they can use sophisticated new forms of high-tech evidence to prosecute money laundering, terrorist financing, pornography, fraud and other serious crimes.

Sessions focused on providing participants with practical skills in recognising and collecting evidence, improving retention and analysis techniques, and presenting evidence in court.

The training not only developed skills, says Shirani de Fontgalland, Head of Criminal Law at the Commonwealth Secretariat, but also helped to “improve co-operation” between and within Caribbean countries.

Building trust between authorities

“All the countries in the region will benefit from this approach,” says Ms de Fontgalland. “It will further develop skills and also facilitate regional co-operation and the development of networks among criminal justice system officials, in particular among prosecutors who play a pivotal role in the system.”

Trainers included experts from the UK Crown Prosecution Service as well as the US Department of Justice, while participants came from countries such as Antigua and Barbuda, Belize, Guyana, Jamaica, St Lucia, and Trinidad and Tobago.

Building trust between officials based around the Caribbean is vital in the fight against high-tech crime, which is transnational by its nature, continues Mr Field.

Commonwealth training

“The criminal hacking into your computer system might be sitting in another country. Given that you have to make all sorts of choices – where the trial is going to be held for instance – you need information from other countries,” he says.

“It is important to have international co-operation to act in a co-ordinated manner if you are going to fight the crime.”

The conference was supported by the Global Prosecutors e-Crime Network, a global initiative to combat high-tech crime backed by the UK’s Crown Prosecution Service, and the International Association of Prosecutors.

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