The UCL Jill Dando Institute of Security and Crime Science (informally the Jill Dando Institute or the JDI) is an institute of
crime science
Crime science is the study of crime in order to find ways to prevent it. Three features distinguish crime science from criminology: it is single-minded about cutting crime, rather than studying it for its own sake; accordingly it focuses on crime ...
located in
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
,
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
, and a part of
University College London
, mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward
, established =
, type = Public research university
, endowment = £143 million (2020)
, budget = ...
(UCL). It was founded in 2001, becoming the first university institute in the world devoted specifically to crime science.
The institute's current director is Richard Wortley.
History
![Weston-super-Mare Jills Garden](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/18/Weston-super-Mare_Jills_Garden.jpg)
In April 1999 the broadcaster
Jill Dando
Jill Wendy Dando (9 November 1961 – 26 April 1999) was an English journalist, television presenter and newsreader. She spent most of her career at the BBC and was the corporation's Personality of the Year in 1997. At the time of her death, her ...
was murdered outside her home in west London.
Her colleague and co-presenter of the
BBC One
BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...
programme ''
Crimewatch
''Crimewatch'' (formerly ''Crimewatch UK'') is a British television programme produced by the BBC, that reconstructs major unsolved crimes in order to gain information from the public which may assist in solving the case. The programme was or ...
'',
Nick Ross
Nicholas David Ross (born 7 August 1947) is a British radio and television presenter. During the 1980s and 1990s he was one of the most ubiquitous of British broadcasters but is best known for hosting the BBC TV programme ''Crimewatch'', whic ...
proposed a memorial to her in the form of a new university institution in her name, for which he was awarded an OBE in 2021.
[ Ross had already conceived of ]crime science
Crime science is the study of crime in order to find ways to prevent it. Three features distinguish crime science from criminology: it is single-minded about cutting crime, rather than studying it for its own sake; accordingly it focuses on crime ...
as a new discipline which distinguished itself from criminology by focusing on crime prevention, scientific methodology and multidisciplinary approach. He and Dando's fiancé, Alan Farthing
Alan John Farthing, FRCOG, (born 8 June 1963) is an English obstetrician and gynaecologist and Surgeon-Gynaecologist to Queen Elizabeth II's Royal Household.
Career
Farthing was born in Winchester, Hampshire.
He attended Beacon School in ...
, established the Jill Dando Fund with the help of the Metropolitan Police
The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), formerly and still commonly known as the Metropolitan Police (and informally as the Met Police, the Met, Scotland Yard, or the Yard), is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement and ...
Commissioner
A commissioner (commonly abbreviated as Comm'r) is, in principle, a member of a commission or an individual who has been given a commission (official charge or authority to do something).
In practice, the title of commissioner has evolved to in ...
Sir John Stevens
John Arthur Stevens, Baron Stevens of Kirkwhelpington, (born 21 October 1942) was Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis (head of the Metropolitan Police Service) from 2000 until 2005. From 1991 to 1996, he was Chief Constable of Northum ...
, the Countess of Wessex
Earl of Wessex is a title that has been created twice in British history – once in the pre-Conquest Anglo-Saxon nobility of England, and once in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. In the 6th century AD the region of Wessex (the lands of the W ...
, and her family and friends.[
On 15 March 2000 the Jill Dando Fund was launched in London at ]Claridge's
Claridge's is a 5-star hotel at the corner of Brook Street and Davies Street in Mayfair, London. It has long-standing connections with royalty that have led to it sometimes being referred to as an "annexe to Buckingham Palace". Claridge's Hote ...
hotel, followed by the launch of the Jill Dando Fund Appeal on 12 September 2000. The appeal raised £1.5 million and UCL was selected to host the Jill Dando Institute of Crime Science.[ Gloria Laycock, OBE was appointed as the first director of the institute in January 2001.][ The institute was opened on 26 April 2001, the second anniversary of Jill Dando's murder.
]
Scholarship
In May 2004 the institute established new scholarships for its MSc in crime science. In 2005 a Security and Crime Science Centre was established at the institute to work with industry partners in creating new approaches to counter terrorism
Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...
. In the same year the International Crime Science Network was established. The institute published research in May 2006 which showed that the UK and France are perceived to have the worst problems with anti-social behaviour in Europe. The Centre for Security and Crime Science opened in October 2006.
In 2009 UCL established the Department of Security and Crime Science as a separate entity from the institute in order to enable the offering of post-graduate taught and research courses in security and crime science. The institute continued as a cross-departmental research institute in security and crime science.[ In September 2009 the Home Office was criticised after it drew up timescales for how long DNA samples should be retained based on research by the institute that had not yet been finished.]
See also
*Crime scene investigation Crime scene investigation may refer to:
* Forensic inspection of a crime scene
* ''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'' (2000-2015), a US television series
* ''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'' (video game), a 2003 videogame based on the TV show
* ''C ...
*Crime prevention through environmental design
Crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED) is an agenda for manipulating the built environment to create safer neighborhoods.
It originated in America around 1960, when urban renewal strategies were felt to be destroying the social fram ...
*Crime statistics
Crime statistics refer to systematic, quantitative results about crime, as opposed to crime news or anecdotes. Notably, crime statistics can be the result of two rather different processes:
* scientific research, such as criminological studies, vi ...
References
External links
UCL Jill Dando Institute of Security and Crime Science
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Departments of University College London
Criminology in the United Kingdom