Crime, science and evaluation

Abstract

This short article is written from the perspective of a crime scientist. Crime science, as Ken Pease discussed in a recent CJM article, aspires to join up the various sciences in the quest to reduce crime, disorder and terrorism to the lowest possible levels in ways which meet current ethical expectations. It also aspires to become a new discipline with post-graduate courses and a relevant research programme. It is, in other words, in for the long-haul. Ken likes to stick his neck out, and has argued that all sciences have a potential contribution to make to crime management. It is a strong statement and obviously difficult to prove. As one of the sceptics I now ask our students what, if anything, astronomy may have to offer to crime reduction. They often surprise themselves by being able to list things such as the phases of the moon and its effect on behaviour. My current favourite example is from the Institute of Astronomy at Cambridge where, with funding from the EPSRC, they are investigating whether the techniques used to improve images from space can also be used to improve CCTV images. This is obviously relevant when atmospheric interference is the cause of distortions.