ABSTRACT
The rapid evolution of information technology, the proliferation of computer and media devices and the rapid growth in the use of ICT and the Internet for organisational management has brought new forms of crimes and made financial crime to be easier to commit. This study focused on the use of information communication technology (ICT) to combat financial crime in Ghana. It is a case study of the Ghana Police Service Commercial Crime Unit. The study used the Adaptive Information Security Systems model to serve as the basis for the literature review. To achieve the aim of the study, the survey methodology was used to survey thirty eight (38) respondents from the Ghana Police Service Commercial Crime Unit.
The study revealed that the use of ICT among the personnel was very low. The study also found out that the Service does not have the necessary ICT facilities to combat financial crime. Besides, the knowledge of the personnel of the unit in the use of ICT is inadequate. Therefore, the high hopes of ICT utilization and its resultant outcome is not realised.
Based on the findings, the study recommend that the Ghana Police Service in general and the Commercial Crime Unit in particular need to be resourced with modern ICT facilities and training of the personnel to be able to fight ICT-based financial crime.
CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION
Information technology (IT) is playing a crucial role in contemporary society. It has transformed the whole world into a global village and changed global economy. Globalisation of world economies has greatly enhanced the values of information to business organisations and has offered new business opportunities (Singh, 2008).
Today, IT provides the communication and analytical power that organisations need for conducting trade and managing business at global level with much ease. To coordinate their worldwide network of suppliers, distributors and consumers, organisations have developed global information systems that can track orders, deliveries, and payments round the clock. This has been possible because of the development of ICT in its present form (Singh, 2008). In the broadest sense, information communication technology refers to both the hardware and software that are used to store, retrieve, and manipulate information.
Turban et al. (2011) contended that financial institutions are fast developing and producing millions of transactions daily stored in complex information systems. They further explained that efficient analysis of such large volumes of data is crucial for quick and real time decision-making. Product management, loss prevention and detection and suppression of fraud are also of concern to such financial institutions. With the current global issues of financial crimes, business stakeholders, law enforcement agencies and the government have also become more concerned with the security of business transactions and the far reaching repercussion of financial crimes on the image of the country in attracting foreign investment.
Financial crime is causing economies to lose huge amounts of money; The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (2005) has stated that $1.6 trillion ‘dirty’ dollars are floating around the global economy; the latest annual statistics from the UK’s National Fraud Authority show that more than £38 billion has been lost over the last 12 months due to fraud (Sourcingfocus.com, 2012). Consequently, these days, financial institutions tend to seek means for secured and efficient analysis of their data (Saunders and Cornett, 2008). Adopting Business Intelligence (BI) tools can provide technological and innovative support in such cases, especially in developing countries like Ghana (Petrini and Pozzebon, 2003).
Financial crimes in Ghana have dominated the list of challenges business are confronted with as a result of their increased use of Internet-based IT solutions and systems. Ghana Business News (2012) reports that the Financial Intelligence Centre of the (Central) Bank of Ghana received a total of 206 Suspicious Transaction Reports in 2012 alone which were forwarded to law enforcement agencies to investigate. Also, the Criminal Investigations Department of the Ghana Police Service has launched the E-Crime Project to build the capacity of detectives in cybercrime investigation and intelligence gathering (Ghana Business News, 2012). With these two preliminary instances, it is prudent to say that organizations and the relevant stakeholders in Ghana are taking steps to deal with financial crimes.
In today’s fast paced world, it is imperative for security personnel and journalists to be armed with proper and efficient tools to respond to ever changing and unpredictable situations they encounter in performing their duties (Muhammed-Nasiru and Kasimu, 2012). Considering contemporary developments in the technological world, surveillance serves as a valuable and essential tool for information gathering in combating criminal activities and security management in a country.
As observed by McQuail (2005), police and intelligence services are paying more attention to the need for combating financial crime especially in respect of potential trans-border crime, money laundering, cyber crimes and many new kinds of ICT crime. Conventionally, within any society or country, information gathering and combating crime by police exist for the purpose of security of lives and property. Information and communication technologies (ICTs) have revolutionalized every aspect of human endeavours. Today, ICTs promise a whole new and interesting horizon characterized by boundless possibilities and opportunities in the face of the continuous emergence of sophisticated tools, systems and approaches being adopted by IT criminal.
Information and communication technologies are the nervous system of contemporary society, ‘transmitting and distributing seasons and control information and interconnectivity, a myriad of independent units’ (Negash, 2004). Operationally ICTs are used for transferring information. It includes low-cost means of communication, like radio, GSM/mobile phones, and digital television-not leaving out the Internet. The set of technology is technically electronic machines devices and their application that have both computing and communication capabilities. Institutions and government agencies such as the Ghana Police Service and many other private security companies involved in combating financial crime can exploit the computing and communications power of IT to curb if not deal effectively with the alarming rate of financial crime in Ghana.
Profile of Ghana Police Service
Policing in Ghana (then the Gold Coast) was originally organised by traditional authorities led by local kings or chiefs. This, they did by employing unpaid messengers to carry out executive and judicial functions in their communities. Professional policing was introduced
by the British Colonial Authorities to the Gold Coast now Ghana in 1821 (Pokoo-Aikins, 2002).
The Criminal Investigations Department (CID) was established in 1922. Following the riots of 1948 led by the Big Six, the Special Branch and the Police Reserves Unit was formed for riot control and to prevent destabilisation of the government. The Special Branch was to gather intelligence. The Wireless and Communications unit was opened in June 1950. A women’s branch was established with officers in 1952. The Police College was opened in 1959. Prior to this, all officers were trained in the United Kingdom.
