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	Vol.7, No 58, December 9, 1999
	Professor helps L.B.P.D. research Asian criminals By Daniel Oliveira Daily Forty-Niner Cal State Long Beach criminal justice professor John Wang can spot a phony credit card, and possibly the criminal responsible for it, from a mile away. "Officially, I'm a professor here," Wang said. "As a researcher, I have a lot of law enforcement connections." Born in China, Wang assists the International Association of Asian Crime Investigators in recognizing counterfeiting, dealing with Asian cultures and understanding the Asian legal system. A member of the Long Beach Police Department's chief advisory board, Wang is currently doing an evaluation for the department about its policing strategies in the Cambodian community. "He has a strong background in criminal justice, especially in Asian crime," said Eric Sing, the Asian community liaison to the department. Although counterfeiting involves people from many backgrounds, Wang said he concentrates his research on Asian criminals. Yet, he said he does not become part of criminal investigations. "The Italian Mafia is almost going down," Wang said. "Asian high-tech crime will be a new threat to law enforcement in the next century." The American police are not fully aware of high-tech crime, a term that includes counterfeiting, credit card fraud, cellular phone fraud and computer-related crime, -- because of a weak U.S. Congress and the lack of penalty, Wang said. A person who robs $30,000 from a bank can be sentenced to serve a much longer sentence than a criminal who obtains a similar amount through a counterfeit credit card, Wang said. "Our legislature is far behind in terms of computer fraud, Internet abuse and counterfeiting," he said. "There are no specific laws here." To check for counterfeit credit cards, Wang recommends that people look at the 3-D logo, color, plastic and printing quality. In terms of dollar bills, he recommends that people look at the color, paper quality, water mark (a letter, number or picture that can be seen when held up to light) and security thread (a bar inside the paper that can be seen when held up to light). CSULB criminal justice student Rob Trout said he benefits from Wang's class because of the films and mock crime scenarios. "He's very energetic," Trout said. "He always gets us involved in the class." Leena Shirgaokar, another CSULB criminal justice student, said Wang is very passionate in his field. "He wants us to learn a lot from his class, because the topic is criminal law, and it's very important," she said. Before coming to CSULB, Wang taught at the Houston Police Academy for three years. He said he came to CSULB because of the criminal justice department's reputation. Wang said he would like to help University Police sometime. "If they have an Asian suspect, I could help them in terms of how to interrogate and conduct an interview," he said. Wang will offer a new class next winter session -- Contemporary Issues in Criminal Justice (Crim 301) -- in which he will deal with issues related to high-tech crime.		Professor helps L.B.P.D. research Asian criminals   National health survey hits L.B.   Speech, debate team grabs first   Music instructor not singing blues   Student beats shopping challenge   POLICE LOG Walk through racism   Alcohol, drugs lead to teenage sex   Professors don't profit from books Circus Dragon   'Deuce' humorous   Led Zeppelin produces another classic release Scott's success goes beyond LBSU Fall 99 ISSUES DAILY 49ER HOMEPAGE
Forty-Niner Publications, Department of Journalism, California State University, Long Beach ©1999 All rights reserved.