Simulating Crime: Models, Methods, Tools

• Autore: Federico Cecconi
• Pagine: 181-182

Simulating Crime: Models, Methods, Tools

FEDE RIC O CECC ONI ∗

“To me the most interesting aspect of thelaw and economics movement

has been its aspiration to place the study of law on a scientif‌ic basis,

with coherent theory, precise hypothesesdeduced from theor y,

and empirical tests of the hypotheses .. . ”1

SUMM ARY:1. Introduction – 2. ABM - Agent-based Modeling and Crime – 3. Simu-

lating Crime: Methods – 3.1. An Example – 3.2. One Result – 4. Tools – 5. Conclu-

sions

1. INT RODU CTI ON

Since the advent of computers, the natural and engineering sciences have

enormously progressed. Computer simulations allow one to understand in-

teractions of physical particles and make sense of astronomical observations,

to describe many chemical properties ab initio, and to design energy-eff‌icient

aircrafts and safer cars. Today, the use of computational devices is pervasive.

Off‌ices, administrations, f‌inancial trading, economic exchange, the control

of infrastructure networks, and a large share of our communication would

not be conceivable without the use of computers anymore.

Hence, it would be very surprising, if computers could not make a con-

tribution to a better understanding of social and economic systems. While

relevant also for the statistical analysis of data and data-driven efforts to re-

veal patterns of human interaction, we will focus here on the prospects of

computer simulation of social and economic systems by ABS - Agent-Based

Simulation.

It is well-known that the ways in which social scientists analyze human

behavior, social interactions, and society vary largely. The methods range

from qualitative to quantitativeones, and among the quantitative ones, some

communities prefer detailed models with many variables and parameters,

∗The Author is senior researcher at theIns tituteof Cognitive Sciences and Technologies,

National Research Council of Italy (ISTC-CNR),Rome.

1R.A. POSN ER, in Faure M., Van den Bergh R. (eds.), “Essays in Law and Economics”,

Antwerpen, Maklu, 1989.

“Informatica e diritto”, Vol. XXII, 2013, n. 1, pp. 181-191

XXXIX annata – Seconda Serie - Fasc. monografico S. Faro, N. Lettieri (a cura di), "Law and Computational Social Science", ESI, Napoli, 2013, 352 p.