A new survey conducted by blockchain intelligence company TRM Labs has revealed that 99% of law enforcement needs more training on crypto.
“Extremely” complex cases
The survey collected responses from 300 law enforcement professionals around the globe, 93% of which were from US law enforcement organizations.
The newly released survey from TRM Labs follows a report released by the company earlier this month estimating that over $1.7 billion worth of crypto was stolen by cybercriminals in 2023 alone.
Seven out of every 10 respondents reported that their crypto crime investigations are “very” or “extremely” complex, with 61% saying they lacked the adequate tools or technology to accurately support the investigations themselves.
A striking 99% of those surveyed reported that they needed more crypto-related training.
However, when provided with the right resources, respondents reported finding crypto-based investigations to be easier than conventional ones.
In fact, 92% of those surveyed stated that partnerships with private sector organizations such as crypto exchanges or blockchain analytics greatly increased their chance of success.
The federal vs. state training gap
The survey went on to highlight discrepancies between federal and state crypto crime investigations in the US, noting that many state and local law enforcement bodies around the nation face a lack of resources.
TRM Labs notes that while greater than 50% of federal agencies utilize blockchain analytics tools in their investigations, just 11% of state agencies could say the same.
Meanwhile, the need for adequately trained crypto law enforcement professionals as the industry continues to grow.
Respondents claimed that over 40% of investigations at their respective agencies involved cryptocurrency, with the number expected to reach 51% by 2027.
Cracking down on crypto criminals
According to data from the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigations unit (IRSCI), four out of ten of this year’s top cases involved cryptocurrency-related crimes.
Moreover, federal agencies across the U.S. are cracking down on criminals in the crypto space.
Most notably, FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried was convicted in Manhattan federal court last month for misappropriating billions worth of customer funds off of the cryptocurrency exchange.
More recently, Binance founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao pleaded guilty to violating a number of federal statutes and was forced to step down as the cryptocurrency exchange’s CEO.
The report suggests that with the right tools, law enforcement agencies will be able to more swiftly take down bad actors across the cryptocurrency industry.
“Over half of respondents identified the lack of investigators, expertise and funding as the top three obstacles that remain to be overcome for law enforcement to gain the upper hand in fighting crypto crime,” the survey states.
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