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<p>Crime science (or more accurately crime and security science) has three core tenets:</p><p>• the application of scientific methods</p><p>• the study of crime and security problems</p><p>• the... more
<p>Crime science (or more accurately crime and security science) has three core tenets:</p><p>• the application of scientific methods</p><p>• the study of crime and security problems</p><p>• the aim of reducing harm.</p><p>Beyond the unifying principles of scientific research (including a clear problem definition, transparency, rigor, and reliability), tools and techniques vary between studies. Rather than following a prescriptive approach, researchers are guided in their selection of data and methods by their research question and context. In this respect, crime scientists take an inclusive view of "evidence."</p><p>"Crime and security" is a broad construct, covering problems associated with diverse illicit goods and acts, offenders, victims/targets, places, technologies, and formal and informal agents of crime control.</p><p>Its pragmatic approach distinguishes crime science from "pure research" (i.e., the pursuit of knowledge for its own sake). Contributions to harm reduction might be immediate (e.g., evaluating a novel intervention) or longer term (e.g., building theoretical or empirical knowledge about a particular issue).</p><p>Crime science is broad: researchers may contribute to it without self-identifying as crime scientists. Indeed, its early proponents hesitated to draw its parameters, suggesting they should be defined operationally. Under a shared focus on crime, crime science research transcends traditional disciplinary boundaries. The prevalence of multi- and interdisciplinary work reflects the inherent complexity of crime and its control. The social, physical, biological, and computer sciences—and their associated technologies—all have contributions to make.</p><p>Although the term crime science was first formalized in 2001, its roots go back much further. Within criminology, it particularly overlaps with environmental and experimental criminology. As well as sharing methods with these two areas, crime science's theoretical underpinning derives from opportunity theories of crime (e.g., routine activity theory, the rational choice perspective, crime pattern theory). Crime is conceptualized accordingly as primarily non-random and as influenced by both individual criminal propensity and environmental factors that facilitate, promote, or provoke, criminal events.</p><p>Crime science techniques have been applied to a variety of issues: primarily volume crimes (e.g., burglary), but also more serious and complex crimes (e.g., terrorism and human trafficking). There is now substantial evidence of the effectiveness of targeted interventions in tackling crimes by manipulating their opportunity structures. Claims that such approaches are unethical and merely cause displacement have been discredited. Crime science now faces other, more challenging criticisms. For example, its theoretical underpinnings are arguably too narrow and the boundaries of the field lack clear distinction. Other challenges include expanding interventions into the online world and resolving tensions around evaluation evidence.</p><p>Crime science can clearly help explain and address crime problems. Its focus on outcomes rather than outputs speaks to the growing demand that research be impactful. Evidence generated through robust studies has value for policy and designing primary, secondary and tertiary interventions. In times of austerity and increased focus on multi-agency collaboration, there is a clear audience for crime-related research that can inform targeted responses and speaks to a broader agendum than law enforcement alone.</p>
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In almost every country on earth the primary means used by governments in the control of crime involves the use of a criminal justice system – police, courts and prisons etc. This paper will suggest that, important though these are for... more
In almost every country on earth the primary means used by governments in the control of crime involves the use of a criminal justice system – police, courts and prisons etc. This paper will suggest that, important though these are for delivering justice or retribution, they are not fit for purpose in the 21st Century as a major means of crime control. Much greater emphasis needs to be placed on science and experimentation in developing ways to control crime and particularly in stopping it before it happens. The paper argues for the introduction of crime science as an appropriate discipline upon which to base a more rational and empirical approach to crime reduction and discusses the characteristics of this approach and what it might mean in practice.
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Gloria Laycock and Graham Farrell dence to tackle problems. The implications for repeat victimization in particular, and problem-oriented policing in general, are discussed. INTRODUCTION Herman Goldstein's (1990) original conception... more
Gloria Laycock and Graham Farrell dence to tackle problems. The implications for repeat victimization in particular, and problem-oriented policing in general, are discussed. INTRODUCTION Herman Goldstein's (1990) original conception of problem-oriented policing (POP) was that it ...
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Conventional wisdom holds that crime prevention needs to be based on a thorough understanding of the causes of crime. Though it may be conceded that preventive measures (such as humps in the road to stop speeding) can sometimes be found... more
Conventional wisdom holds that crime prevention needs to be based on a thorough understanding of the causes of crime. Though it may be conceded that preventive measures (such as humps in the road to stop speeding) can sometimes be found without invoking ...
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IN one sense, behaviour modification is going on all the time in our penal institutions. People are received, serve their sentence, during which time learning takes place, and are discharged having learned something. It is what they learn... more
IN one sense, behaviour modification is going on all the time in our penal institutions. People are received, serve their sentence, during which time learning takes place, and are discharged having learned something. It is what they learn that is problematic. In the present situation ...
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Backgound: Limited data suggest that crime may have a devastating impact on older people. Although identification and treatment may be beneficial, no well-designed studies have investigated the prevalence of mental disorder and the... more
Backgound: Limited data suggest that crime may have a devastating impact on older people. Although identification and treatment may be beneficial, no well-designed studies have investigated the prevalence of mental disorder and the potential benefits of individual manualized CBT in older victims of crime. Aims: To identify mental health problems in older victims of common crime, provide preliminary data on its prevalence, and conduct a feasibility randomized controlled trial (RCT) using mixed methods. Method: Older victims, identified through police teams, were screened for symptoms of anxiety, depression or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) one (n = 581) and 3 months (n = 486) after experiencing a crime. Screen positive participants were offered diagnostic interviews. Of these, 26 participants with DSM-IV diagnoses agreed to be randomized to Treatment As Usual (TAU) or TAU plus our manualized CBT informed Victim Improvement Package (VIP). The latter provided feedback on the VIP...
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Previous volumes of the HEUNI regional reports have paid little or no attention to transnational organized crime.3 Although the literature on transnational orga-nized crime (hereafter TOC) is expanding rapidly, there remain few... more
Previous volumes of the HEUNI regional reports have paid little or no attention to transnational organized crime.3 Although the literature on transnational orga-nized crime (hereafter TOC) is expanding rapidly, there remain few standardized measures of the problem. There is ...
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The Home Office Crime Prevention Unit was formed in 1983 with a view to promoting preventive action against crime. Included in its remit is a particular responsibility for the dissemination of information on crime prevention topics. The... more
The Home Office Crime Prevention Unit was formed in 1983 with a view to promoting preventive action against crime. Included in its remit is a particular responsibility for the dissemination of information on crime prevention topics. The present series of occasional papers, while ...
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The author(s) shown below used Federal funds provided by the U.S. Department of Justice and prepared the following final report:
To support the development and implementation of evidence-based crime reduction, we systematically identified and appraised 70 systematic reviews of single crime reduction measures published between 1975 and 2015. Using the EMMIE... more
To support the development and implementation of evidence-based crime reduction, we systematically identified and appraised 70 systematic reviews of single crime reduction measures published between 1975 and 2015. Using the EMMIE framework, we find that the quality of reporting on the Effectiveness of crime reduction measures is reasonably strong, particularly in systematic reviews published by the Cochrane and Campbell Collaborations. In contrast, evidence concerning the Mechanisms underpinning a crime reduction intervention, the conditions that Moderate effectiveness, Implementation challenges and the Economic costs and benefits of crime reduction was largely absent from the assessed systematic reviews. We conclude that there is a distinct lack of systematic review evidence in crime reduction that currently speaks to the knowledge needs of practitioners (i.e., how to make an intervention “work” for them).
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Summary and Keywords Crime science (or more accurately crime and security science) has three core tenets: • the application of scientific methods • the study of crime and security problems • the aim of reducing harm. Beyond the... more
Summary and Keywords
Crime science (or more accurately crime and security science) has three core tenets:
• the application of scientific methods
• the study of crime and security problems
• the aim of reducing harm.
Beyond the unifying principles of scientific research (including a clear problem definition, transparency, rigor, and reliability), tools and techniques vary between studies. Rather than following a prescriptive approach, researchers are guided in their selection of data and methods by their research question and context. In this respect, crime scientists take an inclusive view of “evidence.”
“Crime and security” is a broad construct, covering problems associated with diverse illicit goods and acts, offenders, victims/targets, places, technologies, and formal and informal agents of crime control.
Its pragmatic approach distinguishes crime science from “pure research” (i.e., the pursuit of knowledge for its own sake). Contributions to harm reduction might be immediate (e.g., evaluating a novel intervention) or longer term (e.g., building theoretical or empirical knowledge about a particular issue).
Crime science is broad: researchers may contribute to it without self-identifying as crime scientists. Indeed, its early proponents hesitated to draw its parameters, suggesting they should be defined operationally. Under a shared focus on crime, crime science research transcends traditional disciplinary boundaries. The prevalence of multi- and interdisciplinary work reflects the inherent complexity of crime and its control. The social, physical, biological, and computer sciences—and their associated technologies—all have contributions to make.
Although the term crime science was first formalized in 2001, its roots go back much further. Within criminology, it particularly overlaps with environmental and experimental criminology. As well as sharing methods with these two areas, crime science’s theoretical underpinning derives from opportunity theories of crime (e.g., routine activity theory, the rational choice perspective, crime pattern theory). Crime is conceptualized accordingly as primarily non-random and as influenced by both individual criminal propensity and environmental factors that facilitate, promote, or provoke, criminal events.
Crime science techniques have been applied to a variety of issues: primarily volume crimes (e.g., burglary), but also more serious and complex crimes (e.g., terrorism and human trafficking). There is now substantial evidence of the effectiveness of targeted interventions in tackling crimes by manipulating their opportunity structures. Claims that such approaches are unethical and merely cause displacement have been discredited. Crime science now faces other, more challenging criticisms. For example, its theoretical underpinnings are arguably too narrow and the boundaries of the field lack clear distinction. Other challenges include expanding interventions into the online world and resolving tensions around evaluation evidence.
Crime science can clearly help explain and address crime problems. Its focus on outcomes rather than outputs speaks to the growing demand that research be impactful. Evidence generated through robust studies has value for policy and designing primary, secondary and tertiary interventions. In times of austerity and increased focus on multi-agency collaboration, there is a clear audience for crime-related research that can inform targeted responses and speaks to a broader agendum than law enforcement alone.
Keywords: science, environmental criminology, situational crime prevention, experimental criminology, prevention, harm reduction, medical model, opportunity theories, multiagency collaboration, interdisciplinary research, multidisciplinary research
Crime science (or more accurately crime and security science) has three core tenets:
• the application of scientific methods
• the study of crime and security problems
• the aim of reducing harm.
Beyond the unifying principles of scientific research (including a clear problem definition, transparency, rigor, and reliability), tools and techniques vary between studies. Rather than following a prescriptive approach, researchers are guided in their selection of data and methods by their research question and context. In this respect, crime scientists take an inclusive view of “evidence.”
“Crime and security” is a broad construct, covering problems associated with diverse illicit goods and acts, offenders, victims/targets, places, technologies, and formal and informal agents of crime control.
Its pragmatic approach distinguishes crime science from “pure research” (i.e., the pursuit of knowledge for its own sake). Contributions to harm reduction might be immediate (e.g., evaluating a novel intervention) or longer term (e.g., building theoretical or empirical knowledge about a particular issue).
Crime science is broad: researchers may contribute to it without self-identifying as crime scientists. Indeed, its early proponents hesitated to draw its parameters, suggesting they should be defined operationally. Under a shared focus on crime, crime science research transcends traditional disciplinary boundaries. The prevalence of multi- and interdisciplinary work reflects the inherent complexity of crime and its control. The social, physical, biological, and computer sciences—and their associated technologies—all have contributions to make.
Although the term crime science was first formalized in 2001, its roots go back much further. Within criminology, it particularly overlaps with environmental and experimental criminology. As well as sharing methods with these two areas, crime science’s theoretical underpinning derives from opportunity theories of crime (e.g., routine activity theory, the rational choice perspective, crime pattern theory). Crime is conceptualized accordingly as primarily non-random and as influenced by both individual criminal propensity and environmental factors that facilitate, promote, or provoke, criminal events.
Crime science techniques have been applied to a variety of issues: primarily volume crimes (e.g., burglary), but also more serious and complex crimes (e.g., terrorism and human trafficking). There is now substantial evidence of the effectiveness of targeted interventions in tackling crimes by manipulating their opportunity structures. Claims that such approaches are unethical and merely cause displacement have been discredited. Crime science now faces other, more challenging criticisms. For example, its theoretical underpinnings are arguably too narrow and the boundaries of the field lack clear distinction. Other challenges include expanding interventions into the online world and resolving tensions around evaluation evidence.
Crime science can clearly help explain and address crime problems. Its focus on outcomes rather than outputs speaks to the growing demand that research be impactful. Evidence generated through robust studies has value for policy and designing primary, secondary and tertiary interventions. In times of austerity and increased focus on multi-agency collaboration, there is a clear audience for crime-related research that can inform targeted responses and speaks to a broader agendum than law enforcement alone.
Keywords: science, environmental criminology, situational crime prevention, experimental criminology, prevention, harm reduction, medical model, opportunity theories, multiagency collaboration, interdisciplinary research, multidisciplinary research
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Age-specific arrest rates for the United States at the crime peak of the late 1980s and early 90s are compared to those for 2010. Three key features are explored; (1) The disproportionate decline in adolescent offending; (2) The decline... more
Age-specific arrest rates for the United States at the crime peak of the late 1980s and early 90s are compared to those for 2010. Three key features are explored; (1) The disproportionate decline in adolescent offending; (2) The decline in this age-effect up to age 40; (3) Offenders aged in their 40s who in 2010 offended at higher rates than offenders of that age at crime's peak. The first two are interpreted as consistent with the debut crime hypothesis: crime fell because reduced crime opportunities made adolescent crime, and hence criminal career onset and continuance, more difficult. We interpret the third as a legacy of increased onset and habitual criminality fostered by exploitation of the plentiful crime opportunities of the 1970s and 80s. Implications for theory and practice are identified.
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The author(s) shown below used Federal funds provided by the US Department of Justice and prepared the following final report: ... Document Title: Research for Police: Who Needs It? ... This report has not been published by the US... more
The author(s) shown below used Federal funds provided by the US Department of Justice and prepared the following final report: ... Document Title: Research for Police: Who Needs It? ... This report has not been published by the US Department of Justice. To provide better ...
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Book description: Chapters in this volume cover five areas: (1) the development of comprehensive data systems for understanding car theft; (2) the scope for improving vehicle documentation; (3) using national data systems to evaluate... more
Book description: Chapters in this volume cover five areas: (1) the development of comprehensive data systems for understanding car theft; (2) the scope for improving vehicle documentation; (3) using national data systems to evaluate large-scale interventions; (4) using regional ...
Page 1. Scientists or politicians: who has the answer to crime? Professor Gloria Laycock Jill Dando Institute of Crime Science University College London Page 2. Jeremy Bentham Probably UCL's most famous possession is the... more
Page 1. Scientists or politicians: who has the answer to crime? Professor Gloria Laycock Jill Dando Institute of Crime Science University College London Page 2. Jeremy Bentham Probably UCL's most famous possession is the 'auto-icon' of Jeremy Bentham, which ...