Steven Kemp

Serra Hunter Associate Professor of Criminology
Universitat de Girona  ·  Dret Públic  ·  ORCID: 0000-0001-8662-1913
Fraud Cybercrime Sentencing Quantitative methods

I am a Serra Hunter Associate Professor of Criminology in the Department of Public Law at the Universitat de Girona, and a member of the Seminari de Ciències Penals i Criminològiques research group. My research focuses on fraud and cybercrime against individuals and organisations, sentencing, and quantitative methods — with a particular emphasis on the Spanish and European criminal justice context.

I also serve as a Consultant Lecturer at the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI) and at the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC).

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Research

2026
Editorial

La inteligencia artificial generativa en la investigación criminológica cuantitativa

InDret: Revista para el Análisis del Derecho
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Journal article

Managing Cybersecurity in the Water Sector: When the Human Factor Does Matter

Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management, 152(5), 05026009 (with Laura Arantegui & Ignasi Rodriguez-Roda)
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Journal article

Financially Motivated Cybercrime Offending in Video Game Environments: Self-Control, Risky Lifestyles and Victim-Offender Overlaps

Victims & Offenders (with Fernando Miró-Llinares)
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2025
Journal article

Worry about Online Fraud and Older Adults: Avoidant and Protective Responses

Journal of Criminology, 58(3) (with Esther Sitges Maciá & Nieves Erades-Pérez)
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Journal article

El misterioso caso de las cifras oficiales sobre condenas por delitos sexuales graves

Revista Española de Investigación Criminológica, 23(1) (with Daniel Varona & Jose M. López-Riba)
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Editorial

Editorial: Número especial TIC y criminalidad

Revista Española de Investigación Criminológica, 22(2) (with Abel González)
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Research report

Les Audiències Provincials Catalanes i les Ordres de Protecció en Violència Masclista

Observatori de la Justícia, Departament de Justícia, Generalitat de Catalunya (Varona et al.)
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2024
Journal article

Is There a Penalty for Going to Trial in Spain? Plea Bargaining and Courtroom Efficiency

European Journal of Criminology, 21(1), 92–115 (with Daniel Varona)
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Book

Las Ciberestafas: Tendencias, Infractores, Víctimas y Prevención

Atelier Libros, Barcelona. ISBN: 9788410174054
→ View book
2023
Journal article

Foreign and Dangerous? Unpacking the Role of Judges and Prosecutors in Sentencing Disparities in Spain

British Journal of Criminology, 63(4), 984–1002 (with Daniel Varona)
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Journal article

Exploring Public Cybercrime Prevention Campaigns and Victimization of Businesses: A Bayesian Model Averaging Approach

Computers & Security, 127, 103089
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Journal article

Consumer Fraud against Older Adults in Digital Society: Examining Victimization and Its Impact

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20(7) (with Nieves Erades-Pérez)
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Journal article

The Digital Harms of Smart Home Devices: A Systematic Literature Review

Computers in Human Behavior, 145, 107770 (with Buil-Gil, Kuenzel, Coventry, Zakhary, Tilley & Nicholson)
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Journal article

When Do Businesses Report Cybercrime? Findings from a UK Study

Criminology and Criminal Justice, 23(3), 468–489 (with Buil-Gil, Miró-Llinares & Lord)
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2022
Journal article

La conformidad en España: predictores e impacto en la penalidad

InDret: Revista para el Análisis del Derecho, 1/2022 (with Daniel Varona & Olivia Benítez)
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2021
Journal article

Empty Streets, Busy Internet: A Time-Series Analysis of Cybercrime and Fraud Trends During COVID-19

Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice, 37(4), 480–501 (with Buil-Gil, Moneva, Miró-Llinares & Díaz-Castaño)
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Journal article

Offline Crime Bounces Back to Pre-COVID Levels, Cyber Stays High: Interrupted Time-Series Analysis in Northern Ireland

Crime Science, 10(26) (with David Buil-Gil & Yongyu Zeng)
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Journal article

Cybercrime and Shifts in Opportunities During COVID-19: A Preliminary Analysis in the UK

European Societies, 23(S1), 47–59 (with Buil-Gil, Miró-Llinares, Moneva & Díaz-Castaño)
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2020
Journal article

Fraud Reporting in Catalonia in the Internet Era: Determinants and Motives

European Journal of Criminology, 19(5), 994–1015
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Journal article

The Dark Figure and the Cyber Fraud Rise in Europe: Evidence from Spain

European Journal on Criminal Policy and Research, 26, 293–312 (with Miró-Llinares & Moneva)
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Journal article

Suspended Sentences in Spain: An Alternative to Prison or a "Bargaining Chip" in Plea Negotiations?

European Journal of Crime, Criminal Law and Criminal Justice, 28(4) (with Daniel Varona)
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Journal article

Fraude online vs. offline: Factores predictores de victimización y su impacto

InDret: Revista para el Análisis del Derecho, 1/2020 (with Asier Moneva)
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In the Media

El PaísApril 2026

La fiscalía apenas registra una de cada cuatro sentencias por violación en sus datos oficiales

Research on significant under-recording of rape convictions in Spain's official prosecutorial statistics, highlighting gaps in judicial data collection.

→ Read article
3Cat / TV3October 2024

L'estafador de l'amor — Documentary series (3 episodes)

Expert contributor across all three episodes of this TV3 documentary series investigating the case of Albert Cavallé, a serial romance fraudster who exploited victims through dating apps.

→ Watch series
El PaísMarch 2024

Las ciberestafas ya son el segundo delito más denunciado: "Nadie está a salvo de caer en la trampa"

Commentary on the rise of online fraud to become Spain's second most-reported crime, and why no one is immune to falling victim.

→ Read article
Diari Públic2021

La delinqüència canvia d'escenari i es desplaça durant l'epidèmia

Analysis of how crime patterns shifted during the COVID-19 pandemic, with street crime declining while cybercrime and online fraud surged.

→ Read article

Contact

Feel free to get in touch regarding research collaborations, media enquiries, or dissertation supervision.

Email
steven.kemp [at] udg.edu
Address
Departament de Dret Públic
C/ de la Universitat de Girona, 12
17003 Girona, Spain