VR at the... crime scene

Abstract

Police solved just 12 per cent of 750,000 domestic burglaries between June 2014 and 2015. In order to learn more about how burglars operate and to help law enforcement and security companies devise more effective deterrents, researchers from the Netherlands Institute for Crime and Law Enforcement and Portsmouth University have set up a virtual-reality burglary environment. This consists of the exterior and interior of three adjacent houses and their immediate surroundings. Study participants, consisting of University students and convicted burglars currently in prison, wear an Oculus Rift headset and move around the virtual street. They select a target, break in, search a house and finally exit with the stolen goods. Thus far, the study has found that experienced burglars tend to follow similar routes: upstairs first, then downstairs living rooms, checking coat pockets for wallets, credit cards and small valuables but ignoring electronic equipment. It's almost like they're on autopilot, says Portsmouth University forensic psychologist, Claire Nee.