Crime, Science and Policing

Abstract

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.