Dear Representatives Spanberger, Jackson Lee, Moore, and Garbarino,
I am writing on behalf of the members of the Fraternal Order of Police to advise you of our support for H.R. 4977, the “Better Cybercrime Metrics Act.”
Each year, hundreds of thousands of Americans are targeted in cybercrime-related incidents, falling victim to online criminals. These involve online scams, fraud, corporate data breaches, ransomware attacks and many more. In 2020, some estimates put the monetary cost of these incidents well over $4 billion. There are an estimated 300,000 to 700,000 cybercrime victims each year, these numbers are increasing. Unfortunately, because there is no comprehensive data collection to record the scale and impact of cybercrimes in the United States, these estimates are likely much lower than the actual number of victims.
Your legislation would encourage local and Federal law enforcement agencies to report cybercrimes to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Additionally, the FBI would be required to report cybercrime metrics and cyber-enabled crime categories similarly to how they report other types of property crimes. This legislation would authorize a National Academies of Science study, in consultation with Federal, State, local and tribal stakeholders, on creating a taxonomy for cybercrime incidents. This study would be used to inform the FBI during their reporting of cyber-enabled crime. Lastly, the Bureau of Justice Statistics at the Department of Justice and the Census Bureau would be required to include cybercrime on the annual National Crime Victimization Survey.
On behalf of the more than 364,000 members of the Fraternal Order of Police, I am proud to offer our support for this necessary legislation. If I can provide any additional information about this bill, please do not hesitate to contact me or Executive Director Jim Pasco in our Washington, D.C. office.
Sincerely,
Patrick Yoes
National President