Shanna Mehlbaum investigates concrete issues, such as mugging perpetrator profiles. She is also working on her PhD. research into environmental crime. ‘My work is my hobby. When I’m off duty, I still read the crime sites.’ But she started out studying History.
What kind of work do you do? “I’ve been working for almost five years with the Amsterdam police corps in the Analysis & Investigation department. I coordinate and conduct research into a variety of topics, such as criminal prosecution of burglars, nuisance and criminal corruption. I then advise management based on my results. I also supervise internal graduate students, and I evaluate projects such as how we dealt with the top 600 recidivist criminals in Amsterdam.”
What do you enjoy about your work? “Every day is different, and I get to study new phenomena and problems. Within the organisation, I can ride along with my colleagues, such as the catering team or the neighbourhood directors. As a researcher, it is great that my recommendations are often actually implemented in the operational organisation, and don’t just disappear into a drawer.”
‘It’s great that my recommendations don’t just disappear into a drawer’
Did you always want to do this work? “No, I studied History for a year first, but I thought it was too theoretical. I was looking for something more practical, and the combination of Sociology and Law appealed to me. Along the way, I realised that I wanted to work in an organisation that deals with current events and that is often the first to be confronted with social problems: the police. There, I would be able to study criminal and security issues from up close. I chose the Master’s programme in Criminal Law Enforcement, including police law, which was an option at the time. We had lectures from lecturers who had actually worked in the field, like attorneys, and Peter R. de Vries gave a guest lecture once.”
What is your favourite memory from your time as a student? “During the Bachelor’s in Criminology, Peter van Koppen had us study the Schiedammer Park murder from 2000 in detail. Based on the actual witness reports, we had to compile the timeline: is it possible that that person was actually there at that time. The first suspect was seen somewhere other than where he had claimed to be. And the interrogation of the surviving boy Maikel was a textbook example of how you should not interrogate a child. We were introduced to real detective work.”
What is your least favourite memory? “The massive Law lectures, where we sometimes had to sit on the steps. That made it feel like it was a degree factory.”
‘Based on the actual witness reports, we had to compile the timeline’
Was it difficult to find out what you wanted to do? “No, it just became clear during my studies. But I did go visit an acquaintance who worked at Child Protective Services, to see if I might be interested in the field. But that just confirmed my decision. I would definitely advise students to take the time to orient themselves in the field, for example by doing volunteer work with the police. You see everything come by at the reception desk, and in Flevoland, where I’ve also worked, they sometimes let Criminology students help with the detective work. That experience can open doors to paid positions.”
You are also working on your PhD. in addition to your work? “I am an ‘external doctoral candidate’; a doctoral candidate that works outside the university. I conduct research into environmental crime. In the Netherlands and abroad, there are more and more regulations about how to process waste properly, and that costs a lot of money, while the market for reusable raw materials is growing. So it is lucrative to sell waste products as something that can be re-used, because then you can earn money with it, instead of having to spend money. I investigate the organised cases, and ask what kind of people do it and how they do it. Often they are companies that are trying to beat their competition.”
Do you have an excess of energy? “I enjoy doing it, because my profession is my hobby. When I’m off duty, I still read the crime sites and read true crime books.
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