Crime leads to insecurity, thus affecting social well-being. Reducing crime is therefore a major societal challenge. The ever-changing nature and scale of crime, manifesting itself in new forms such as cybercrime and terrorism, makes research into the causes and patterns of crime an ongoing task. Insights into these causes and patterns, new or otherwise, make it possible to determine to what extent and how different forms of crime can be prevented or combated. The challenge is to arrive at an innovative approach to crime that changes with the times.
Connecting character
Connecting knowledge and insights from criminology, psychology, law and sociology can provide insight into the causes of crime. This could include research that tests hypotheses about the link between certain social characteristics such as economic stress and criminal behaviour. New insights into the causes and patterns of crime serve as input for evaluative research into the effectiveness of existing punitive and/or preventive measures. Given the limited resources available to fight crime, it makes economic and social sense to conduct strategic research on the extent to which measures contribute to societal security. This enables prioritisation of policies in this area. Strategic research can also make a practical contribution to tackling crime itself: which steps in the criminal process should you disrupt to undermine criminal systems? In view of a changing society, fundamental-ethical research is also appropriate; what about the criminal liability of automated systems such as robots, for example?
