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Crime, security and governance in outer space

Space Crime and Policing

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Outer space is no longer governed solely by national space agencies. A diverse range of actors, in particular private enterprises, start-ups, defence organisations, and international partnerships, are actively shaping the space domain and its infrastructure. However, comprehension of possible crimes in space, as well as criminal laws, oversight, and policing are not yet equipped to address and tackle the intricate complexity and speed of these (often technology-dependent) developments.

This shift from public to private raises a range of new and quite pressing questions around accountability, enforcement, and international coordination. Especially for organisations that create, maintain, as well as depend on space infrastructure, understanding and policing space crime becomes vital.

The VU-UT Masterclass offers such a comprehensive understanding of the criminological, policing studies, legal, governance, technological, and societal dimensions of crime and policing in outer space. It brings together several perspectives, making it an interdisciplinary programme that equips professionals to anticipate emerging criminality in space, that can critically assess possible future developments for policing, and who will be able to address the emergent and evolving governance of space crime and policing through foresight-analysis.

The masterclass carries a workload of 5 ECTS and is delivered in an intensive two-week format. The first week consists of interactive sessions held on the campuses of Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and the University of Twente. The second week focuses on individual reflection, research, and the development of a forward-looking advisory assignment.

Topics covered

  • Introduction to Space Crime, Policing and Justice
  • Space Law, Governance and International Jurisdiction
  • Criminology and Policing in Outer Space
  • Human Behaviour in Extreme Environments
  • Cybersecurity and Space Security
  • Risk Management and Crisis Response
  • Ethics, Justice and Governance Design
  • Future Scenarios for Policing and Enforcement in Space

Yarin Eski

Yarin Eski

His work connects criminology with governance, security and policing studies, with a growing focus on space criminology and how crime, harm, policing, and regulation emerge beyond Earth. He studies issues such as space resource extraction, astrocapitalism, and new forms of planetary-scale inequality and control, including prospective analyses of astrocide. He co-edited the Routledge volume Crime, Criminal Justice and Ethics in Outer Space, developing space criminology as a distinct research area.

Iris van Sintemaartensdijk

Iris van Sintemaartensdijk

She is an Assistant Professor at the University of Twente. Her work is focused on creating safe societies, both on earth as well as in outer space. She studies how and when people make safety decisions (such as when to intervene in a crime), with a particular focus on employing technology such as virtual reality to do so. She has contributed to the Routledge volume Crime, Criminal Justice and Ethics in Outer Space.

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