Tough on the causes of crime?

The Economic and Social Research Council Network for the Study of the Social Contexts of Pathways in Crime will be based at the Institute of Criminology at the University of Cambridge. The programme aims to bring a more holistic approach to the study of pathways into crime.

"Criminologists have been studying these issues for many decades and we now know a great deal about the factors which lead people into criminal careers," says the project’s leader, Professor Per-Oloff Wikstrom.

"But there are many holes in our knowledge. Too often different approaches - the study of social factors and individual characteristics, for instance - have been dealt with separately in research, and this problem has been reflected in crime prevention initiatives with similar limitations. We need a more joined-up approach, understanding how different factors interact and how these interactions vary in different times and places."

It will bring together UK researchers in Sheffield, London and Huddersfield, as well as drawing in North American researchers in Chicago, Montreal and Pittsburgh. The UK strand of the programme has three empirical studies, each tackling a different stage in development. In London Professor Terrie Moffitt of King’s College, London will lead research on childhood, in Cambridge Professor Per-Oloff Wikstrom will lead research on adolescence and in Sheffield, Professor Sir Anthony Bottoms will lead research on young adults.

The collaborative studies in North America will allow a comparative approach which will help researchers to assess the importance of systemic factors such as welfare provision and neighbourhood disadvantage.

The practical application of all the new knowledge generated will be led by Professor Ken Pease at the University of Huddersfield whose Policy and Prevention Analysis programme will help policy-makers and practitioners to develop more effective approaches for tackling the causes of crime.