The applicability of data mining to the academic criminological community

Data mining is a term that describes a suite of computationally intense processes that have developed in the commercial arena which explore relationships within large databases in order to extract value and, ultimately, profit. This report looks at whether the criminological community can benefit from these seemingly powerful data analysis tools and whether such tools can help to further theoretical understanding. The report firstly considers what data mining is and what it does, and discusses how this compares with and differs from more conventional analytical methods. It then describes how applicable these differences are to furthering criminological understanding. The paper argues that the commercial background of data mining and its focus on generating results over understanding raises issues concerning the reliability and integrity of the techniques in terms of making robust scientific statements. However, it goes on to suggest several ways in which data mining and computer science in general can help facilitate and complement more conventional and established methods. Acknowledgements The authors would like to acknowledge the British Academy for funding this research.