Book presentation: Crime Scripting: theorie en praktijk (“Crime Scripting: theory and practice”)

Ana Isabel Barros is senior lecturer of Intelligence at the Netherlands Police Academy. At the Crime Control, Intelligence and Criminal Investigations Centre of Knowledge, she develops methods and models that may help the police stay one step ahead of criminal organizations, for instance with the aid of ‘crime scripting’. She was co-author of the compilation Crime Scripting: theorie en praktijk (Crime Scripting: theory and practice), together with Thom Snaphaan and Peter Klerks. On Wednesday 18 September, they presented this important book at the Netherlands Police Academy in The Hague. This book is the first to combine scholarly and operational knowledge of and experience with this method. 

The compilation was presented to a large, interested audience. Kathelijne van Kammen, Deputy Director of the Netherlands Police Academy, opened the event. ‘Our students are the future experts. They will work on smart solutions to combat and prevent crime. Crime scripting is a much-used method. This book is a fine example of research using and incorporating practical experience. I believe that our students can benefit greatly from this book.’ 

How do criminals go about their business?

Crime scripting was introduced in criminology thirty years ago. This method describes blueprints of criminal activities and has become an increasingly important tool in crimefighters’ toolbox.

We often look at crime as something special. But do we view crime as a business model? With logistics chains that are set up in such a way as to make them profitable? If we do this, a different picture emerges. The name in fact speaks for itself. Crime scripting provides a script that describes how criminals go about their business. 

Barros: ‘Take, for example, cannabis cultivation. Production is essential. You therefore need a production location that is easily accessible. Furthermore, you need raw materials and lots of water and power. Criminals do not want to be discovered. So the question is how a criminal or a criminal group go about their business. A good script in fact describes the entire process of criminal activities.’

Effect-based approach

As soon as there is a proper crime script that covers all factors that enable the crime, the police have a number of interventions at their disposal. Arrest, for instance. But it may also be stepping up vigilant preventive monitoring of vacant buildings in the municipality. 

Barros: ‘We know criminals are very resilient. They will adapt their business model to investigative services’ interventions, resulting in a cat-and-mouse game. So how do we identify the best interventions in a given situation? For that, we need to approach the criminal activity as a system and unravel all its aspects. By getting as complete a picture as possible of all the people involved, all their relations and the required activities. But also what their criminal business model is.’

Paper trails

In the book Barros describes how the resilience of criminal activity can be captured in a model: by combining crime scripting with the underlying social network and the financial-economic aspects of the business. The models thus identified can be used to create strategies to effectively diminish the resilience of organized criminal groups. 

Barros: ‘Smart criminals don’t leave paper trails. In other words, you don’t know what they’re doing. These blind spots are what we focus on. At the Netherlands Police Academy, we will continue to develop our knowledge about how these blind spots can be filled in. And how crime can be combated. We want an intelligence department to be able to work faster than a criminal organization. We really want to be a step ahead of criminals.’