Title: The National White Collar Crime Center: Helping America Fight Economic Crime Series: Program Brief Author: Bureau of Justice Assistance Published: April 2002 Subject: white collar crime, law enforcement -- general, technology in law enforcement 6 pages 9,450 bytes -------------------------------- Photos are not included in this ASCII plain-text file. To view this document in its entirety, download the Adobe Acrobat graphic file available from this Web site or order a print copy from NCJRS at 800- 851-3420 (877-712-9279 for TTY users). BJA at 800-688-4252. -------------------------------- U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs Bureau of Justice Assistance Bureau of Justice Assistance Program Brief Richard R. Nedelkoff, Director www.ojp.usdoj.gov/BJA April 2002 NW3C National White Collar Crime Center The National White Collar Crime Center: Helping America Fight Economic Crime The National White Collar Crime Center (NW3C) provides a national support network for enforcement agencies, state regulatory bodies, state and local prosecution offices, and other organizations that prevent, investigate, and prosecute economic crime, cyber crime, and other high-tech crimes. NW3C is a unique federal-state partnership in which federal funds from the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), U.S. Department of Justice, support a critical resource for state and local enforcement agencies addressing multistate economic crime issues. NW3C provides a platform for better cooperation and coordination among federal, state, and local agencies. NW3C is headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, and operates offices in the Morgantown and Fairmont areas of West Virginia. NW3C staff include computer crime specialists, curriculum developers, enforcement analysts, intelligence technicians, researchers, and training coordinators. NW3C services are coordinated by an elected board of directors comprising a chairman and seven regional directors from across the United States. -------------------------------- About BJA The Bureau of Justice Assistance was established in 1984 as a component of the Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. BJA provides leadership and resources to state, local, and tribal governments and communities to reduce crime, violence, and drug abuse and to strengthen the nation's criminal justice system. BJA provides this assistance through formula and discretionary grants, training and technical assistance, publications, and the BJA web site. For Further Information To learn more about the National White Collar Crime Center, contact: National White Collar Crime Center 7401 Beaufont Springs Drive Suite 300 Richmond, VA 23225-5504 804-323-3563 or 1-800-221-4424 Fax: 804-323-3566 Web site: www.nw3c.org Bureau of Justice Assistance 810 Seventh Street NW. Washington, DC 20531 202-616-6500 Fax: 202-305-1367 Web site: www.ojp.usdoj.gov/BJA For publications and information on other BJA-funded programs, contact: Bureau of Justice Assistance Clearinghouse P.O. Box 6000 Rockville, MD 20849-6000 1-800-688-4252 Web site: www.ncjrs.org Clearinghouse staff are available Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. eastern time. Ask to be placed on the BJA mailing list. U.S. Department of Justice Response Center 1-800-421-6770 or locally at 202-307-1480 Response Center staff are available Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. eastern time. -------------------------------- Services to Law Enforcement Agencies NW3C offers the following services to state and local law enforcement agencies. Most services are free for NW3C voting members. Intelligence. The following information services are available at no cost: o Criminal Information Pointer database, which directs qualified member agencies to other criminal justice agencies that may be investigating similar criminal activity. o A variety of public information databases, including Lexis-Nexis and ChoicePoint. Training. NW3C is a leading national training resource, offering introductory to advanced courses. In FY 2000, 800 individuals representing 376 agencies were trained in financial investigation through the Center. Courses currently offered include: o Financial Investigations Practical Skills o Financial Records Examination and Analysis o Disaster Fraud Management Courses are offered in each NW3C membership region. Visit www.training.nw3c.org to learn more. Additionally, NW3C oversees the National Cybercrime Training Partnership (NCTP), an initiative of the U.S. Attorney General headed by the Computer Crimes and Intellectual Property Section of the U.S. Department of Justice. In FY 2000, NCTP trained thousands of law enforcement personnel in data recovery and analysis and Internet fraud and distributed nearly 50,000 copies of the videotape and manual Cyber Crime Fighting-The Law Enforcement Officer's Guide to Online Crime. -------------------------------- NW3C member agencies cited the Center's resources as a key factor in cases that resulted in more than 200 arrests and indictments, $4.7 million in criminal restitution, and 1,400 months in criminal sentences. -------------------------------- NCTP's training courses include: o Basic Data Recovery and Analysis o Advanced Data Recovery and Analysis o Internet Trace Evidence Recovery and Analysis Learn more at www.nctp.org. Analysis. The NW3C analysis unit is an indispensable resource for economic crime investigators. NW3C helps members: o Examine bank records and financial documents. o Analyze transaction patterns. o Prepare charts showing links between criminals and their activities. o Analyze qualitative data and trends. Case funding. NW3C provides limited financial assistance to designated case investigations. NW3C member agencies cited the Center's resources as a key factor in cases that resulted, in FY 2000, in more than 200 arrests and indictments, $4.7 million in criminal restitution, and 1,400 months in criminal sentences. In these cases, NW3C assistance covers critical expenses such as document recovery, expert witnesses, and investigative travel. To qualify, agencies must meet certain criteria and be unable to obtain funding from other sources. The decision to assist with a designated case is made by the NW3C board of directors. Research. For member agencies and public and private entities, the NW3C research team is a valuable source of economic and high-tech crime information. The research team conducts original research on economic crime issues, maintains a library of information on economic and high-tech crime, and responds to requests for information on a wide range of complex issues surrounding economic and high-tech crime. Fraud complaint management. Establishing the Internet Fraud Complaint Center (IFCC) in partnership with the Federal Bureau of Investigation was a major step in assisting law enforcement agencies nationwide by providing a mechanism to consolidate the collection and referral of fraud complaints. IFCC refers fraud victim complaints to law enforcement agencies with jurisdiction and streamlines the case initiation effort on behalf of the victim and the authorities. IFCC serves as a central repository for complaints related to Internet fraud. It uses the information from the site to quantify fraud patterns and provides timely statistical data of current fraud trends. Learn more at www.ifccfbi.gov. The IFCC served a critical role for U.S. law enforcement agencies immediately following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, when the U.S. Attorney General designated the IFCC web site as the single online portal for the public to report terrorist information. In the first 3 months following the attacks, citizens posted more than 150,000 tips for law enforcement. Investigators at FBI Headquarters in Washington, D.C. used this information to aid the September 11 criminal investigation. As a result of the promotion of the IFCC web site to support investigations into terrorist acts, activity on the site has soared, with fraud complaints showing a dramatic increase. Economic Crime Summit. This annual national conference, hosted by NW3C, is recognized as the single most important venue spotlighting current trends and initiatives in economic crime. The summit brings together academic organizations, government agencies, private corporations, victim interest groups, prevention specialists, and others to examine methodologies and share the resources they use to address economic crime. Learn more at www.summit.nw3c.org. Membership NW3C members comprise local and state law enforcement agencies, state regulatory agencies with criminal investigative authority, and local and state prosecution offices. Agencies apply for membership as single entities. There are no memberships for individual persons. Membership packets are available from NW3C containing all information needed to start the process. The head of an agency (e.g., chief of police, superintendent, director) must sign the membership application and membership agreement. If an agency or department has regional offices, the office applying for membership may have its leading manager (e.g., division director, special agent-in- charge) sign the application and agreement. The application requires the designation of a representative to serve as the point of contact between the agency and NW3C. NCJ 184958 April 2002