Program Bri

Bureau of Justice Assist

Richard R. Nedelkoff, Director

www.ojp.usdoj.gov/BJA

April 2002

The National White Co

Crime Center: Helping

America Fight Econom

Crime

T he National White Collar Crime Center (NW3C) providenational support network for enforcement agencies, s

regulatory bodies, state and local prosecution offices, and 

organizations that prevent, investigate, and prosecute econ

crime, cyber crime, and other high-tech crimes. 

NW3C is a unique federal-state partnership in which federa

from the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), U.S. Departm

Justice, support a critical resource for state and local enfo

agencies addressing multistate economic crime issues. NW

provides a platform for better cooperation and coordination 

federal, state, and local agencies.

NW3C is headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, and operate

in the Morgantown and Fairmont areas of West Virginia. NW

include computer crime specialists, curriculum developers,

enforcement analysts, intelligence technicians, researchers

training coordinators. NW3C services are coordinated by a

board of directors comprising a chairman and seven region

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.

2

◆ Criminal Information Pointer database, 

directs qualified member agencies to o

criminal justice agencies that may be

investigating similar criminal activity.

◆ A variety of public information databas

including Lexis-Nexis and ChoicePoint.

Training. NW3C is a leading national train

resource, offering introductory to advance

In FY 2000, 800 individuals representing 

agencies were trained in financial investig

through the Center. Courses currently offe

include:

◆ Financial Investigations Pract

◆ Financial Records Exami

Analysis 

◆ Disaster Fraud Mana

Courses are offered in 

NW3C membership re

www.training.nw3c.or

more.

Additionally, NW3C overs

National Cybercrime Trainin

Partnership (NCTP), an initiati

U.S. Attorney General headed by t

Computer Crimes and Intellectual Propert

of the U.S. Department of Justice. In FY 2

NCTP trained thousands of law enforcem

personnel in data recovery and analysis a

Internet fraud and distributed nearly 50,0

of the videotape and manual Cyber Crime 

The Law Enforcement Officer’s Guide to O

Crime.
◆ Basic Data Recovery and Analysis

◆ Advanced Data Recovery and Analysis

◆ 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:

◆ Examine bank records and financial documents.

◆ Analyze transaction patterns.

◆ Prepare charts showing links between criminals

and their activities. 

◆ 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 partnersh

with the Federal Bureau of Investigation was a majo

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.

IFCC served a critical role for U.S. law

enforcement agencies immediately following the

September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, when the U.

Attorney General designated the IFCC web site as th

single online portal for the public to report terrorist

information. 
U.S. Department of Justice

Office of Justice Programs

Bureau of Justice Assistance

Washington, DC 20531

Official Business

Penalty for Private Use $300

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.

needed to start the process. 

The head of an agency (e.g., chief of police

superintendent, director) must sign the me

application and membership agreement. If 

or department has regional offices, the off

applying for membership may have its lead

manager (e.g., division director, special age

charge) sign the application and agreemen

application requires the designation of a

representative to serve as the point of con

between the agency and NW3C.

Photos © 2001 Corbis and © 1997–1999 PhotoDisc, In