Cybercrime and Cyber Investigations: Development of a Training Curriculum for Law Enforcement Personnel

The prominence of cybercrime incidents over the last two decades has led to calls for local law enforcement to learn and implement best practices for cybercrime response and investigations. Framed by Kirkpatrick’s training evaluation model, the current study describes the process of developing, delivering, and assessing a training curriculum on cybercrime and cyber investigations for law enforcement personnel through a needs assessment and pilot test. The pilot test utilizes a pre/post-test design to assess change in perceived knowledge and learning acquisition among participants (n = 76) and assess the reception of the course. Study findings illustrate improvements in perceived knowledge and learning acquisition and positive course evaluations from participants. Findings informed refinements to both the training content and evaluation strategy, ensuring the training is optimally tailored to meet the needs of practitioners. These findings contribute to the broader understanding of effective training methodologies in the evolving field of cyber investigations.