Reawakening criminology: the importance of scientific method and inquiry in policing practice

Purpose Criminology both as a field of study and as a practice draws on a broad range of disciplines from the social, behavioural, human, natural and medical sciences. However, over recent times, the natural and medical sciences have been dismissed, overlooked and even ridiculed, largely since the rise of critical criminology and related contemporary conflict and social harm approaches from the 1960s onwards. This has led to a chasm emerging between the study of criminology and the practice of criminology such as within a policing context. This paper aims to provide a review of an emerging forensic biological method, that of neuroscience, within a criminological context, to illustrate the importance of criminology embracing and reawakening its natural and medical science roots. Design/methodology/approach The paper draws on a conceptual design to realign criminology with the full range of disciplines used to inform its theory and application. Findings Through illustrating the role of forensic neuroscience, the paper reawakens the scientific method and inquiry of criminology reflecting the importance of the discipline being, and remaining, multi- and trans-disciplinary in nature. The paper, while reflecting on the limitations of scientific method and inquiry, outlines the strengths this approach to criminology engenders, promoting and delivering a scientific-based research agenda that aims to support industry partners in the prevention, disruption and reduction of crime, disorder and threats to public security. Practical implications Firstly, it is important for criminology as a field of study to (re)engage with its scientific method and inquiry. Secondly, criminology, by engaging in robust scientific method and inquiry, has a significant contribution to make to professional practice and the work of industry professionals. Thirdly, while there are limitations to such scientific method and inquiry, it should not lead to this component of criminology being discarded. Fourthly, there is a need for contemporary research in the area of scientific method and inquiry and its application to criminological contexts, including that of police practice. Finally, by engaging in scientific method and inquiry that is evidence based, a chasm between the field of study and the practice associated with criminology can be addressed. Originality/value This paper addresses the gap between criminology as a field of study and as a practice by reengaging with scientific method and inquiry, illustrating the need and value of criminology being and remaining multi- and trans-disciplinary, ensuring professions underpinned by criminology are supported in their practice.

[1]  D. Scheinost,et al.  A guide to the measurement and interpretation of fMRI test-retest reliability , 2020, Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences.

[2]  K. Specht.  Current Challenges in Translational and Clinical fMRI and Future Directions , 2020, Frontiers in Psychiatry.

[3]  Kaylie A. Carbine,et al.  Methodological reporting behavior, sample sizes, and statistical power in studies of event-related potentials: Barriers to reproducibility and replicability. , 2019, Psychophysiology.

[4]  E. Ryding,et al.  Prediction of recidivism in a long-term follow-up of forensic psychiatric patients: Incremental effects of neuroimaging data , 2019, PloS one.

[5]  Charles N. Munyon.  Neuroethics of Non-primary Brain Computer Interface: Focus on Potential Military Applications , 2018, Front. Neurosci..

[6]  MISSING-VALUE MISSING-VALUE.  A rendezvous subject? A fragmented discipline? , 2018, The Routledge Companion to Criminological Theory and Concepts.

[7]  P. Knepper.  Laughing at Lombroso , 2017 .

[8]  Elisabetta Sirgiovanni.  Criminal Heredity: The Influence of Cesare Lombroso's Concept of the “Born Criminal” on Contemporary Neurogenetics and its Forensic Applications , 2017 .

[9]  A. Pickering.  The Ontological Turn: , 2017, Multiple Nature-Cultures, Diverse Anthropologies.

[10]  Philipp Kellmeyer,et al.  Ethical and Legal Implications of the Methodological Crisis in Neuroimaging , 2017, Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics.

[11]  G. Sartori,et al.  The guilty brain: the utility of neuroimaging and neurostimulation studies in forensic field , 2017, Reviews in the neurosciences.

[12]  Georgia-Martha Gkotsi,et al.  Neuroscience in forensic psychiatry: From responsibility to dangerousness. Ethical and legal implications of using neuroscience for dangerousness assessments. , 2016, International journal of law and psychiatry.

[13]  R. Kemp,et al.  Model forensic science , 2016 .

[14]  M. Lynch.  Social Constructivism in Science and Technology Studies , 2016 .

[15]  E. Rusconi,et al.  Neuroscience perspectives on security , 2014, Front. Hum. Neurosci..

[16]  C. V. van El,et al.  Neurobiological Correlates in Forensic Assessment: A Systematic Review , 2014, PloS one.

[17]  Elena Rusconi,et al.  Prospects of functional magnetic resonance imaging as lie detector , 2013, Front. Hum. Neurosci..

[18]  J. Moreno,et al.  Neuroscience, Ethics, and National Security: The State of the Art , 2012, PLoS biology.

[19]  L. Farwell.  Brain fingerprinting: a comprehensive tutorial review of detection of concealed information with event-related brain potentials , 2012, Cognitive Neurodynamics.

[20]  Virginia Hughes,et al.  Science in court: Head case , 2010, Nature.

[21]  R. Matthews.  Beyond ‘so what?’ criminology , 2009 .

[22]  D. V. van Essen,et al.  The contributions of prefrontal cortex and executive control to deception: evidence from activation likelihood estimate meta-analyses. , 2009, Cerebral cortex.

[23]  Glenn Porter,et al.  Law's Looking Glass: Expert Identification Evidence Derived from Photographic and Video Images , 2009 .

[24]  Suparna Choudhury,et al.  Critical Neuroscience: Linking Neuroscience and Society through Critical Practice , 2009 .

[25]  John-Dylan Haynes,et al.  Detecting deception from neuroimaging signals – a data-driven perspective , 2008, Trends in Cognitive Sciences.

[26]  W. Iacono,et al.  The Forensic Application of “Brain Fingerprinting:” Why Scientists Should Encourage the Use of P300 Memory Detection Methods , 2008, The American journal of bioethics : AJOB.

[27]  E. Currie,et al.  Against marginality , 2007 .

[28]  R. Walters.  New Modes of Governance and the Commodification of Criminological Knowledge , 2003 .

[29]  A. Banerjee,et al.  Neurochemicals, Behaviours and Psychiatric Perspectives of Neurological Diseases , 2018 .

[30]  R. Kemp,et al.  How to cross-examine forensic scientists: a guide for lawyers , 2014 .

[31]  D. Swanton.  The steel plant as assemblage , 2013 .