Online crime: 3 reasons why criminals post their crimes online.

If you haven’t seen any of the online crime that has been documented on Snapchat, Facebook/ Facebook Live, YouTube and Instagram you wouldn’t know about the types of crime criminals have been posting about such as:

• Torture
• Shootings
• Assault
• Murder
• Theft

What is it that is causing criminals to post their antics online and in turn make getting caught that much easier?

• Is there a certain buzz they get from posting their crimes online?
• Do criminals actually want to be caught?
• Or is there more to it than meets the eye?

One would think that when a crime is committed the criminal would do everything in their capability to ensure that the crime cannot be pinned to them, that’s why there are private investigators and detectives – to find the criminals that manage to get away.

If you ask forensic psychologists, they will say that the reasons why criminals are posting their criminal acts online can be narrowed down to three main causes: Childhood abuse, neglect and attention seeking.

3 reasons why criminals post their crimes online:

1. Childhood abuse – According to a study conducted back in 1989 it was proven that adults who were subjected to abuse as children had higher numbers of arrests than adults who had no official records of abuse as children.

2. Neglect – During childhood development, if children are neglected they do not learn about experiencing or showing behaviours such as love, empathy, trust and how to get along with others. This can be a major contributing factor to criminal acts in adulthood.

3. Attention seeking – Naftali Garcia Berrill, head of New York’s Centre for Neuropsychology and Forensic Behavioural Psychology, suggests that criminals want to communicate with the public and always have. ”By broadcasting crime as perverse entertainment, like television, the perpetrators are elevated to a god-like status, taking life and captivating the public,” he publicised.

These criminals that are posting about their thefts, assault, shootings and abuse are looking for recognition for their actions…They want to be noticed.

What should you do if you come across online crime?

If you come across an online crime post you should report it to:

• The South African cybercrime website
• The police
• Facebook (if you are unsure how to do this, click here)

Let us know what you thought of this article, was it an eye opener, did you learn something new?
Send your answers to siren@bluesecurity.co.za, we would love to hear from you.

Sources:

Tron, G. (2017). The 10 Most Devastating Social Media Crimes From 2017. [online] Oxygen Official Site. Available at: https://www.oxygen.com/crime-time/most-shocking-social-media-crimes-2017 [Accessed 24 Feb. 2019].

Widom, C. (1989). Criminology. [online] Wiley Online Library. Available at: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1745-9125.1989.tb01032.x [Accessed 24 Feb. 2019].

Livni, E. (2017). A forensic psychologist explains why violent criminals post their acts online. [online] Quartz. Available at: https://qz.com/961319/a-forensic-psychologist-explains-why-violent-criminals-commit-post-their-acts-online/ [Accessed 24 Feb. 2019].

Padowitz, K. (2017). Forensic Psychologists Examine Why Criminals Post Crimes on Social Media. [online] Psychology of Law And Criminal Behavior. Available at: http://www.psychology-criminalbehavior-law.com/2018/08/forensic-psychologists-examine-why-criminals-post-crimes-on-social-media/ [Accessed 24 Feb. 2019].