###The carbon footprint of crime
Project ID: 2228bd1141 (You will need this ID for your application)
Research Theme: Engineering
UCL Lead department: Security and Crime Science
Lead Supervisor: Kate Bowers
Project Summary:
Engineering net zero requires an understanding of what contributes to mankind’s carbon footprint. Like all other human activities, crime has a carbon footprint, but this has received little attention in academic or policy debates. However, a potential increase in property crime in the wake of the pandemic, and the financial strain of recession is a contemporary concern. As a high-volume problem, property crime creates a significant financial burden in terms of the replacement of stolen goods, lost income and on the criminal justice system. But it also has a direct carbon cost. Replacing stolen goods requires additional manufacturing to meet demand (at odds with the EPSRC’s mission to improve the circular economy), the transportation of these goods and their components contributes to carbon emissions, as do housing repairs. Less obvious additional (carbon) costs are the travel and actions of the victim, the police and offender. This project seeks to build a carbon cost framework around property crime by undertaking a systematic review, developing theory, and using data science (e.g. machine learning) approaches to analyse large data sets. The project has two external supervisors. Dr Ben Stickle from Middle Tennessee State University is an expert in parcel theft and can provide access to novel data concerned with parcel theft from doorsteps in the USA. Dr Ryan Davenport is a UCL Visiting Fellow and police practitioner with expertise in crime analysis. He can facilitate access to a long-term data set on residential burglary from the Metropolitan Police. The selected student will have a background in data science and be comfortable with the analysis of large data sets. They will also have an interest in crime and environmental issues. Training will be based on a range of tailored modules from the MRes in Security Science, developing understanding of crime science and advanced methods.