Evaluation of the Australian cybercrime online reporting network
Anthony S. Morgan, Christopher Dowling, Rick Brown, Monique Mann, Isabella Voce, Marc A. Smith · QUT ePrints (Queensland University of Technology) · 2016
The Australian Institute of Criminology (AIC) was commissioned by CrimTrac to conduct an evaluation of the Australian Cybercrime Online Reporting Network (ACORN). The ACORN is a national online facility that receives cybercrime reports from members of the public, provides information to Australian law enforcement agencies and provides crime prevention advice to the public. The overall aim of the ACORN was to improve strategic, operational and tactical responses to cybercrime. The AIC’s approach to the evaluation was developed in collaboration with an Evaluation Working Group (EWG) comprising representatives from the Attorney-General’s Department (AGD), Australian Crime Commission (ACC), Queensland Police Service (QPS), NSW Police Force (NSWPF), Western Australia Police (WAPOL) and CrimTrac. The evaluation has been wide ranging, obtaining the views of more than 1,600 ACORN users who submitted a report through an online survey and more than 3,500 members of the general public through a survey conducted before and after the implementation of the ACORN. In addition, working closely with the ACC, NSWPF, QPS and WAPOL enabled the AIC to collect data on the handling of cybercrime reports, intelligence activity and enforcement activity and obtain the views of a wide range of stakeholders. Together, these data provide a unique and important insight into effectiveness of the ACORN in improving law enforcement response to cybercrime.