The wish to re-orient the study of crime from conventional criminology smacks of arrogance and must be justified by reference to advantages that might be gained from such a re-orientation. It is contended that an eclectic approach seeking contributions across science disciplines would stimulate cross-discipline research, undermine the separation of natural and social science reflected in the structure of both Home Office and Research Councils and the content of university courses on crime, and remove obstacles to topic-led developments and the emergence of hybrid journals (which are characteristic of faster-advancing areas of scholarship). Examples of actual and potential cross-discipline work are provided and the mushroom growth of criminology as a discipline in tertiary education is argued to be inimical to the re-orientation advocated in this article.