There are several factors which indicate that society has acquired a new criminological phenomenon, computer crime, which differs in several respects from the traditional forms. A new factor is the environment for crime computers have altered the routines for data acquisition, bookkeeping, division of labor, etc.). Also new is the direct object of gain (electronic signals instead of money) and the duration and time dimension for the crime. The spatial aspect is also new as terminals and computer newworks permit the commission of crime from an unlimited distance between the criminal and the crime scene. Computer technology has also permitted previously unknown modi operandi linked to data processing knowledge. Moreover, the computer system may be the object of crime and can also be used as the subject for crime. A computer as instrument (tool) in crime may be used both actively and passively. A computer can be used for controlling projection processes, making complicated measurements, etc. After certain manipulations, it can similarly be used as an instrument for active commission of crime. The computer can also be used as a passive instrument (i.e., for the theoretical calculation of different alternatives). A computer can also be used as a symbol in the criminal action (i.e., in the case of an agency claiming the use of computers which do not exist). Overall, the term 'computer crime' embraces several juridical classifications of crime which have a common denominator, the computer and its system, which may function as object, subject, instrument, of symbol for a crime. Footnotes, charts, and about 30 references are supplied. (Author summary modified)