ABSTRACT
This chapter is a first step in defining what is described as a distinct approach to crime control, which merges prevention and detection under a scientific umbrella. It is called crime science. One of the challenges of crime science is better to join the divergent disciplines. This process was given a push following the UK government’s Foresight Programme on crime prevention. To take a specific and fairly obvious example of cross-disciplinary work, we know that forensic science has a lot to offer policing. Fingerprint technology and the development of DNA have already made a significant impact on the way in which crime detection is approached. The Cochrane Collaboration set about the process of carrying out systematic reviews of what works and has now established a worldwide network of medical scientists to carry out these reviews and report on the outcomes. The meta-analyses which they typically conduct begin by concentrating on a review of randomised controlled trials in the relevant field.
