The Final Criminological Frontier: Envisioning space crime in VR

When we think of space, we often think of adventure, technological advances, discoveries and positive things. We take less into account that crimes will also inevitably take place in space. In this project, researchers are taking the first step towards understanding space crime. To do so, they are using Virtual Reality (VR). The project builds a VR environment in which participants are exposed to a crime scenario that takes place on a spaceship. Half of the participants are also exposed to the same scenario without VR. Besides physical measurements on participants during the scenarios, they are also asked to what extent their perception of space crime may have changed. The project is the first in a new line of research into an exciting and unexplored topic within criminology, within the Creating Secure Societies coalition. More knowledge and understanding on space crime and the people's reactions to it, will enable the researchers to be at the forefront of an emerging field.