The Effects of Organizational and Community Context on Local Prosecution of Computer Child Pornography Cases

Abstract

The personal computer has revolutionized the forms and manner of distribution of child pornography, creating a truly global system of illegal activity. How local prosecutors in the USA deal with this global problem has not been studied. Using results from the 2001 National Prosecutors Survey, this study finds that likelihood of prosecution of this form of computer crime increases with having budgets for experts, using alternatives to prosecution, and working in districts with higher crime rates and higher levels of income. The significance of these findings to enforcement of child pornography laws in the computer age is discussed, with attention to the kinds of resources prosecutors might need for targeting computer child pornography cases.

Keywords:

• Computer Crime
• Child Pornography
• Theory of Prosecution

Acknowledgements

This research was supported by a grant from the American Statistical Association/Bureau of Justice Statistics, Law and Justice Program, 2005.