Engineering out crime
As a researcher for the Midlands Centre for Criminology and Criminal Justice at Loughborough University, Shaun investigated ways of designing out mobile phone theft as well as tackling cyber-crime. This included visiting prisons to interview offenders. In a strange twist, this also resulted in him being one of the few people to ever be thrown out of prison, but that’s a long story….
Shaun also created the “magic bullet” concept. In this highly original device, a “bullet” was designed that could not be distinguished from the real thing – identical to a 44 “Magnum” cartridge. It would be introduced into the black market. However, if a criminal tried to use it, rather than firing, it would send a burst of mobile phone signal to precisely identify the location of the criminal to the authorities. Imagine the implications.