NCJ Number
147423
Date Published
1990
Length
23 pages
Annotation
This report presents the results of a study of the threat posed by hostile employees ("insiders") to Department of Energy (DOE) nuclear programs.
Abstract
The characteristics of 62 reported insider crime incidents are used to build a profile of the insider. Factors considered include age, length and nature of employment, gender, motivation, duration of crime, tactics and level of planning, and security measures and procedures. Perpetrators typically were operational employees, male, and motivated by financial gain. Theft and robbery were the most frequent crime, comprising 71 percent of the incidents studied. These incidents are summarized and categorized as insider/outsider crimes, insider conspiracies, or lone insider crimes. Of those most likely to attempt theft of strategic nuclear material--anti-nuclear groups, psychotics, criminals, terrorists, and foreign agents--the latter two pose the greater threat, because, unlike one or another of the former three groups, they have political aims and do not merely seek profit, they may be adept at working alone or at enlisting others for a dangerous scheme, and they are not averse to violence.