ABSTRACT
This chapter aims to present and discuss in a concise and analytic manner the distinct ways in which visual materials (products and media) can help to construct a "more visual" criminology as a promising subfield of a visual social and cultural science. The emphasis lies on methodological issues, strengths and weaknesses of the distinct approaches and resources. One could consider "visual criminology" in relation to the broader field of crime-related sciences in much the same way as how "visual anthropology" is to be clearly distinguished from "physical anthropology". An initial, very dominant and varied way to more "actively" study aspects of culture and society through their visual manifestations could be called the "mimetic mode" as it typically seeks to exploit the reproductive or "imitative" qualities of the camera in circumstances where the human eye is inadequate to capture the full richness of complex or fleeting events. The chapter then briefly focuses on emerging technologies and their research potential.
