To first understand computer crime one must understand first what crime is. According to Diana Kendall, “crime is a behavior that violates criminal law and is punishable with fines, jail or other sanctions”(Kendall 1999; 161). Yet since computer technology is so new it has really no laws to govern it. A law is formal norms that are enforced, norms being established rules of behavior. Many of the crimes committed on computers often times go unpunished. As stated by David Pitchford in the London journal Focus when writing on pornography on the Internet, “ the only way illegal pornographers can be caught is through chance leads, tip-

Although computer crime and hacking have become a global problem, it does serve a function in society. Under the functionalist perspective, “society seeks equilibrium within the five institutions of the economy, family, education, government and religion (Kendall; 1999, 14).” So as a hacker destroys either government files or the files on your personal computer, the other institutions are affected. Computer crime serves in society as a way for the computer Internet to police itself by creating better systems that stop hackers from breaking into systems. “After a break in city banks cash management system city bank upgraded it so customers accounts were safer ”(Washington Post 1998). New police divisions have also sprung up to keep an eye on the Internet, the FBI and the Chicago police have units that specialize in computer crime (Chicago Tribune; 1998). While computer crime may cause havoc and unrest, it has made the government and those who control it keep everything in balance. The other institutions are effected also but not as drastically as the economy and the government. Families have become more aware of security on their computers and many people are becoming more educated on those previously shadowy figures known as hackers.

In conclusion, computer crime does have a drastic affect on the world in which we live. It affects every person no matter where they are from. It has made those who committed the crimes into top head lines. It is ironic that those who in secret break into computers across the world for enjoyment have been labeled as deviance. Many hackers view the Internet as public space for everyone and do not see their actions as criminal. Hackers are as old as the Internet and many have been instrumental in making the Internet what it is now. Yet, despite this view popular culture and society have labeled hackers and computer criminals as deviance.

Since the Internet is a global tool, many of the crimes that are committed extend beyond national borders. For this reason the advent of computer crime have made the global community smaller. What one hacker does on his computer i

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