Cyber Crime and Cyber Terrorism

INVESTIGATIVE INNOVATION
Cyber crime and cyber terrorism investigators, especially those officers leading 
and managing investigative teams, must be capable of having or recognizing good 
ideas and using them to make things happen. This is an extremely useful skill for 

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CHAPTER 4
Police investigation processes
any police investigator progressing traditional criminal enquiries but is essential for
cyber investigators given the sheer size, scale, scope and sophistication of online 
criminality. To detect, deter and disrupt cyber criminal activity all cyber investigators 
need to draw upon their experience, skill and ingenuity. Innovative approaches to 
tackling cyber crime and cyber terrorism are essential, and investigators should bring 
or introduce new methods and ideas for implementation as part of the investigative 
process.
It is imperative that cyber investigators and senior leaders create an effective team 
working environment. Every lesson of every cyber investigation has revealed that no 
one single investigator can effectively progress cyber investigations on their own. 
Only by working together and bringing individual skills and expertise to bear in 
concert with one other, will a team of cyber investigators be able to tackle cyber 
crime and cyber terrorism effectively. Therefore, officers engaged in investing cyber 
crimes must create a consistent culture of positively finding solutions and new ideas 
to problems and challenges. The need to share and support new ideas is a neces-
sary component of any cyber investigative team and innovative ideas that enliven 
and arouse the spirit of investigators is essential. Assumptions based on traditional 
beliefs and prehistoric knowledge should be challenged in favor of finding new ways 
of doing things, with new tactics, techniques and technology. This is not to say that 
traditional methods do not work when they are clearly tried and tested, but adopting a 
more radical, less risk averse approach and embracing innovative ideas to bring cyber 
criminals to justice is absolutely necessary for the continued professional develop-
ment of cyber crime policing policy, practice and procedure.