Can we predict new and evolving crimes? And if we can predict them, can we prevent them?
Our research aims to anticipate how technological or social change might create new opportunities for offending, and to propose methods for addressing these problems before they become established. Research will focus on a mixture of evolving current crimes, new crimes about which little is known, and crimes that are likely to emerge in the near or medium- to long-term time horizons.
Research projects
- Mapping the future: horizon scanning for future crime
- Securing the Internet of Things (IoT)
- Crime, place and the internet
- Advanced materials to combat crime
- Future crime opportunities arising from Artificial Intelligence (AI)
- Scoping study on recent and future trends in counterfeit goods
- Cryptocurrency fraud as a future challenge for large-scale financial crime
- Realist review to develop a model to understand vulnerabilities to cybercrime in the UK older population
- Smart tagging and proximity detection for crime reduction
- Onsite counterfeit detection system for agrochemicals
PhD Research
We also fund a wide range of doctoral research through our PhD programme. Details of our PhD research can be found on our Study section.
Research funding
Typically our projects will comprise one or both of two phases:
Phase 1
The aim of Phase 1 projects is to review what is known about a particular change - be it societal or technological. They will establish the state of the art on a particular topic and the implications for future crime. Phase 1 projects usually involve detailed scoping activities. These will include a ‘sandpit’ workshop bringing together leading academics and practitioners to discuss a particular problem and what might be done about it. Seed funding is available for Phase 1 projects and key deliverables include a briefing paper on the topic.
Phase 2
The aim of Phase 2 projects is to complete original research intended to address a specific future crime problem, or to develop existing research to reach a technology readiness level suitable for deployment by crime reduction agencies. Funding is available for Dawes research fellows (6-12 months duration), PhD scholarships, and Dawes International Exchange funding.