Crime Script Analysis: Preventing Crimes Against Business

276 Pages·2016·4.37 MB·English

by  Harald Haelterman (auth.)

CRIME PREVENTION AND SECURITY MANAGEMENT
CRIME SCRIPT
ANALYSIS
Preventing Crimes Against
Business
HARALD HAELTERMAN
Crime Prevention and Security Management
Series Editor
Martin   Gill
Perpetuity Research
Tunbridge Wells , Kent , United Kingdom
It is widely recognized that we live in an increasingly unsafe society,
but the study of security and crime prevention has lagged behind in its
importance on the political agenda and has not matched the level of
public concern. Th is exciting new series aims to address these issues look-
ing at topics such as crime control, policing, security, theft, workplace
violence and crime, fear of crime, civil disorder, white collar crime and
anti-social behaviour. International in perspective, providing critically
and theoretically-informed work, and edited by a leading scholar in the
fi eld, this series will advance new understandings of crime prevention and
security management.
More information about this series at
http://www.springer.com/series/14928
Harald   H aelterman
Crime Script Analysis
Preventing Crimes Against Business
Harald   Haelterman
Ghent University
Belgium
Crime Prevention and Security Management
ISBN 978-1-137-54612-8 ISBN 978-1-137-54613-5 (eBook)
DOI 10.1057/978-1-137-54613-5
Library of Congress Control Number: 2016944983
© Th e Editor(s) (if applicable) and Th e Author(s) 2016
Th e author(s) has/have asserted their right(s) to be identifi ed as the author(s) of this work in accordance
with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
Th is work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether
the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifi cally the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of
illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfi lms or in any other physical way, and trans-
mission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or
dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed.
Th e use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication
does not imply, even in the absence of a specifi c statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant
protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use.
Th e publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book
are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or
the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any
errors or omissions that may have been made.
Cover illustration: © Yon Marsh / Alamy Stock Photo
Printed on acid-free paper
Th is Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by Springer Nature
Th e registered company is Macmillan Publishers Ltd. London
To my Parents
For their unconditional love and support

Series Editor ’s Preface
In this book, Harald Haelterman provides an important reference point
for anyone who wants to learn more about crime scripts and their use
as tools of crime prevention. In so doing, he fi lls an important gap.
Crime script analysis was adopted from another discipline—cognitive
science—and applied to crime rather imaginatively by Derek Cornish
over two decades ago, but his pioneering early work has not inspired as
much follow-up work as it deserves. Indeed, with a few notable excep-
tions, fully discussed in this book, crime script analysis has remained
outside of most discussions about how best to analyse crime and then
prevent it. Haelterman does not just fi ll the general knowledge gap on
using crime scripts, but the specifi c one of relating their use to the busi-
ness environment.
Crime scripts are in fact an extremely useful analytical tool. Th ey
force a focus on all the diff erent elements that contribute to a crime
or attempted crime taking place. Moreover, script analysis aff ords the
opportunity to examine alternative pathways that off enders might follow
when confronted with diff erent obstacles when committing off ences.
In fact the book is more than a discussion of crime scripts; it incor-
porates a review of a wide range of theories both of criminality and the
criminal event providing a context for understanding the diverse ways
in which scripts can improve the comprehension of crime and the iden-
tifi cation of eff ective remedies. You will also learn about costs, not just
vii
viii Series Editor’s Preface
fi nancial ones which are the most discussed, but also ethical, esthetical,
and consequential costs too. And the broader benefi ts of crime scripts
extend beyond crime prevention to crime investigation by linking activi-
ties, and research by generating insights that are diffi cult to uncover by
other means.
You will also be introduced to the process of crime script develop-
ment, understanding how data can be collected and used, crucially how
off ender perspectives can be understood, how intervention points can be
identifi ed and some of the problems therein. Using scripts has long been
under-examined and here you will learn about crime script visualization,
labelling, and how to apply the principles of situational crime prevention
in the most eff ective ways. Th is is important though because one of the
problems for those responsible for preventing crime is deciding which
measures are best suited to any particular context, and it is often not
recognized that crime script analysis provides a potentially eff ective way
of determining that.
Th is book then is about theory and practice and the integration of
the two. Th is process is best refl ected in the range of case studies that
are presented, each examining an aspect of business crime including,
for example, expense reimbursement fraud, fraudulent cash withdrawals
from both stolen cards and account takeover, fraudulent money transfers,
so-called CEO fraud, cargo theft, and theft from vehicles.
Th is book is timely. Th ere is something of a resurgence of interest in
crime scripts, and this book will, I am sure, be an important reference for
both scholars and practitioners.
Martin   Gill
Acknowledgements
Many thanks are due to the team at Palgrave Macmillan, for their contin-
ued support and oversight, and for handling the production and market-
ing of the manuscript. Th anks also to the series editor, Professor Martin
Gill, and to the anonymous reviewers of the original book proposal and
fi nal manuscript. Th eir guidance and comments have been extremely
helpful.
S pecial thanks are due to the various practitioners who wish to remain
anonymous but were willing to share the necessary input for the various
case studies included in this volume. It goes without saying that their
contribution is very much appreciated.
Last but by no means least, I would like to thank my family and friends
for supporting me throughout this endeavour, and for allowing me to
give up the best part of my social life for writing this book. I couldn’t have
done it without their support.
ix