Cybercrime on the Rise Locally

STEPHENSON COUNTY (WIFR) – As the number of cybercrime cases continues to grow, the job of bringing those criminals to justice will only get harder for law enforcement. A Stateline department is already experiencing this as a reality.

The Stephenson County Sheriff’s Department says that although they take every case seriously, investigators have a difficult time following through and solving cybercrime cases because they lack the resources to go after cyber criminals. Sheriff’s Sergeant Don Visel says most of the Cyber Cases he investigates are almost impossible to solve because the crooks are often from outside the area and most times he can’t go after them.

“It’s irritating because you know a lot of times we’re helpless to do stuff with that because a lot of times that type of crime is either originated from another country or other states. We don’t have the resources to go to those other countries or other states,” says Sergeant Visel.

“It’s very difficult because the problem is not only the amount of crime, but the scope, so they’re not always well equipped with the right resources, not that they don’t have the wherewithal to do it, but with the technology they have available to them, they have limited resources,” said P.J. Way with Rockford University.

P.J. Way is the IT director at Rockford University ad he says he feels local departments may be overwhelmed with the amount of cyber cases that come their way and until they get better tools to track down criminals and solve crimes, many cases will go unsolved.

Sourse: wifr.com