High-Tech Means and Implements of Crime: Challenging the Security of Sustainable Urban Development

Cutting-edge technological advancements, e.g. 3D printers and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), may become high-tech means and implements of offences posing enormous security threats to sustainable urban development. The relevance of the subject matter arises out of the nexus between unrest and urban security as it manifests on two levels, on the one hand, urban planning can contribute to disturbances, and on the other hand, there is an actual threat caused by riots to urban facilities. 3D printers and UAVs can potentially be exploited for tactical purposes, including supplying crowds with 3D-printed weapons, transporting them, and obstructing law enforcement officers. The elimination or minimization of outlined misuses of these tools of the Industry 4.0, augments urban security in a fundamental way. The main result of the study is that the abovementioned tools cannot be asserted as determinants of crime, they only play a peripheral, auxiliary role in the commission of criminal acts. Thus, it is concluded that these instruments do need to be regulated through an intelligent control approach. Research outcomes and conclusions were based on general research methods including logical, systemic, sociological, as well as special research methods such as formal-legal, interpretative, statistical, etc. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.