The new crime fighters: Scientists team up with police

Some of the country's top scientists are joining forces with police to help fight crime - but those behind the new collaboration say it's a far cry from the slick, distorted world of shows like CSI.

The partnership will put police staff alongside Waikato University researchers who will mining crime data for patterns, offer psychology insights and help tackle a growing cyber crime problem which could be costing the country $400m each year.

The new collaboration builds on work the university is already leading through its Institute of Crime Science.

"Crime science is devoted to finding out what works to cut crime," said Inspector Shanan Gray, who is helping drive the project.

"It uses data, professional knowledge and an evidence-based problem solving approach to identify ways to detect, prevent and disrupt crime."

Crime scientists - coming from fields ranging from architecture and engineering to mathematics and criminology - examined who committed crime, how and why, and where and when crimes were carried out.

"CSI really is just TV - in the real world things are more complicated," he said.

"But police do understand the need to use science and evidence to inform what we do."

Crime science would form just part of the work at what's been named the Centre for Evidence Based Policing, which Gray said would draw on empirical research to make decisions about "what works" in policing, with frontline staff would having input.

The approach was growing in popularity internationally, and had become more prominent in policing over the last decade.

The centre would host police research and evaluation staff, as well as researchers from the university and ESR, with an initial team of 15 to 20 people.

Better sharing of data could help police better understand what drove offending, how to protect in victims in family harm cases, or save more lives on the roads, Gray said.

Police constantly collected a vast amount of data, from burglary statistics to offender demographics, and there was a need to use and share of much of it as possible to build a deeper understanding of crime.

"Social changes associated with population growth, climate change, fluid migration patterns and an ageing society all have the potential to drive crime and insecurity in ways that are not currently well understood."