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Crime Science

Module description

As society undergoes huge social-political and technological changes, new methods for detecting and tackling both traditional and new forms of crime have become necessary. This module will introduce you to the foundations of Crime Science, an interdisciplinary field that predominately focuses on scientific methods to detect, prevent, and solve crimes instead of social theory for studying individual criminals. Drawing upon fields such as policing, computer science, psychology, economic, and law, this module will introduce you to a number of methods used in this new area through practical-based sessions; such as data science, probability, use of intelligence sources, and systems thinking.

Module aims - intentions of the module

Crime science is a subject that brings together fields of study including social psychology, economics, geography, public health, statistics, urban planning, and others in order to develop scientific and evidence-based approaches for the detection, prevention, and understanding of crime and disorder. This module aims to present you with the key theories that explain the temporal and spatial patterning of crime and terrorism events, as well as associated strategies for disrupting these patterns. In doing so, you will learn to avoid simply considering a specific form of crime and security threat and list possible responses, but to instead demonstrate a clear grasp of the actual process of crime prevention, its theory and application. This will require you to develop an understanding of the need for an interdisciplinary approach to address crime and security problems and to develop an understanding of the different methodological approaches of these fields.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 1. Demonstrate possession of knowledge of crime science and its applications.
• 2. Demonstrate ability to analyse crime/security patterns and offender behaviours and design approaches to detection and prevention.
• 3. Demonstrate an understanding of the various interdisciplinary research methods required to be competent in the field of crime science.

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 4. Demonstrate the ability to reflect on the theme of crime science within the wider context of crime, security, and policing.
• 5. Demonstrate an understanding of the role of crime science within the context of wider societal and behavioural changes.
• 6. Reflect on the content of the module within the broader context of criminological/social theory and analysis.

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 7. Demonstrate the ability to clearly articulate complex notions and analytical methods in both written and spoken form.
• 8. Demonstrate written analytical skills by producing a report and technical report to a deadline.
• 9. Demonstrate the ability to present results of your work to a group in a professional manner.

Syllabus plan

Whilst the module’s precise content may vary from year to year, it is envisaged that the syllabus will cover some or all of the following themes:

• What is crime science?
• Understanding crime patterns
• Analysing crime patterns
• Statistical crime detection and prevention
• Situational crime prevention and environmental design
• Models of investigation
• Proactive/reactive models
• Enforcement
• Forensic evidence
• Qualitative research methods
• Evidence-based evaluation
• Simulation for research
• Horizon scanning for future security and crime concerns

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Formative assessment

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Details of summative assessment

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Re-assessment notes

Deferral – if you miss an assessment for certificated reasons judged acceptable by the Mitigation Committee, you will normally be either deferred in the assessment or an extension may be granted. The mark given for a re-assessment taken as a result of deferral will not be capped and will be treated as it would be if it were your first attempt at the assessment.

Referral – if you have failed the module overall (i.e. a final overall module mark of less than 40%) you will be required to redo the assessment(s) as defined above. If you are successful on referral, your overall module mark will be capped at 40%.

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

• Caldwell, M., Andrews, T., Tanay, T. & Griffin, L. (2020) ‘AI-enabled future crime’ Crime Science 9(14).
• Hamm, M. & de Voorde, C. (2005) ‘Crimes Committed by Terrorist Groups: Theory, research, and Prevention’ Trends in Organized Crime 9(2), pp:18-51.
• Marchment, Z. & Gill, P. (2021) ‘Systematic review and meta-analysis of risk terrain modelling (RTM) as a spatial forecasting method’ Crime Science 10(12).
• Smith, M. & Tilley, N. (2005) Crime Science: New Approaches to Preventing and Detecting Crime Willan Publishing: Cullompton.
• Stubbert, C., Pires, S. & Guerette, R. (2015) ‘Crime science and crime epidemics in developing countries: a reflection on kidnapping for ransom in Colombia, South America’ Crime Science 4(23).
• Wortley, R., Sidebottom, A., Tilley, N. & Laycock, G. (eds.) (2019) Routledge Handbook of Crime Science Routledge: Abingdon.

Key words search

Crime, Terrorism, Crime Science, Analysis, Models, Statistics, Patterns