Who commits crime and why?

NSCR has a long-standing tradition in the study of perpetrators’ criminal careers. At what point in life do offenders start offending, and when and how escalate their criminal careers? We focus on the explanation of patterns: what factors influence starting, escalating and desisting from crime?

Being born in a criminal family substantially elevates children’s risk to become offenders themselves. But by no means all children who grow up in a criminal family become criminals. How is that possible? Certain life events prevent or adjust a (threatening) criminal career: finding a job, a home or a romantic partner. Beside, we focus on the criminal careers of those who commit ‘new’ crimes, such as cybercrime or terrorism.

Program leader: Veroni Eichelsheim

Human behavior and the similarities with nonhuman primates

2 June 2021

Virginia Pallante started her study in biology driven by the interest in how social cohesion is maintained in gregarious animals, trying to understand if similar strategies are shared across different species and how different societies shape the expression of such strategies. She further investigated these issues by focusing on nonhuman primates’ conflict management, a topic […]

Victim of online crime sees little use in reporting to the police

10 November 2020

In particular, offenses aimed at ICT systems, such as malware, ransomware, hacking and DDoS attacks, are rarely reported to the police. The most frequently cited reasons people give are that they “solve it themselves” and that “the police will not do anything about it.” In half of the cases, victims who did report the crime […]

Inaugural lecture Arjan Blokland at Aalborg University

13 October 2020

Invitation to inaugural lecture by Obel Professor Arjan Blokland Tuesday 1 December 2020 | 14.00 – 15.00 “You don’t suppose you can run a railway in accordance with the statutes of the state of New York, do you?” Studying corporate crime through a life-course lens Blokland’s research interests involve the evolution of delinquency and crime […]

Growing up in a single-parent family increases the risk of criminal behaviour during adolescence

13 October 2020

In the European Union and the United States 15 and 27% of children, respectively, grow up in a single-parent family. Although the proportion of single-parent families has remained stable in recent decades, a clear shift is visible in how single-parent families come into being: this happens more often due to a divorce or with the […]

NWO-Veni and two NWO-Vidi’s for NSCR researchers and fellows

12 October 2020

Veni | Choosing the good side: factors that lead to non-criminal hacking Dr Marleen Weulen Kranenbarg | VU University Amsterdam | Fellow NSCR Cybercrime In contrast to criminal hackers, non-criminal hackers actively help in securing IT-systems. By examining lifecourse characteristics of non-criminal hackers, as well as situational and cultural factors, this study will show why […]

Scientifically strengthen police research and practice

24 August 2020

The research program is in line with the Strategic Research Agenda for the Police, and examines how police action works, in what circumstances those action work, for whom, and by whom it works. NSCR uses advanced scientific methods and the latest, current insights and theories, applied to the Dutch context. The program takes research into […]

Young people use alcohol and drugs while hanging out with peers

15 March 2020

Most prior studies on adolescent substance focus on the individual but not on the setting. For example, adolescents who spend more time with peers are known to be more likely to use alcohol and drugs. It is typically assumed but not verified that alcohol and drugs use actually takes place during the time spent with […]

Our online behaviour is much more unsafe than we think

20 January 2020

Online crime is common and the impact on victims can be significant. Despite technical measures such as virus scanners and firewalls, much of the victimization can be traced back to people’s behaviour. The aim of this research was to map out how the Dutch really behave online. Interventions can be developed on this basis in […]

The Human Factor of Cybercrime

5 December 2019

As a result, human decision-making plays a substantial role in the course of an offence, the justice response, and policymakers’ attempts to legislate against these crimes. This book focuses on the human factor in cybercrime: its offenders, victims, and parties involved in tackling cybercrime. Traditional criminal or new offender types? The distinct nature of cybercrime […]

Who commits crime and why?

Program leader: Veroni Eichelsheim

Human behavior and the similarities with nonhuman primates

Victim of online crime sees little use in reporting to the police

Inaugural lecture Arjan Blokland at Aalborg University

Growing up in a single-parent family increases the risk of criminal behaviour during adolescence

NWO-Veni and two NWO-Vidi’s for NSCR researchers and fellows

Scientifically strengthen police research and practice

Young people use alcohol and drugs while hanging out with peers

Our online behaviour is much more unsafe than we think

The Human Factor of Cybercrime

About us

Newsletter

Annual report

Job openings and internships

Follow us

Postal address

Visiting address

Contact

Communication