Apply Network Theory to Criminal Intelligence
In the paper The application of network analysis to criminal intelligence: An assessment of the prospects, researcher Malcolm Sparrow highlights the extensive role network theory can play in the field of criminal intelligence–compiling and examining information to control/impede criminal activities. While network theory has been applied to the study of a variety of real life situations (e.g. traffic, market, and social media users), it also serves as an effective theoretic tool for law enforcement agencies, a lot of whose problems and concerns in fact subsume to network questions. For instance, when law enforcement agencies are investigating a criminal organization, they focus on such issues as who is central in this network, whether it has links to international criminal groups, what role particular members play in this organization and so on. As Sparrow points out, network theory can be used to investigate other criminal activities as well, such as the flow of money transferred among banks, the transportation of invalid goods (e.g. drugs), etc.
In the paper Sparrow introduces a range of network theory concepts and their applications to find “network vulnerabilities” in criminal organizations. Below are a few examples he provides us with:
- Centrality: some nodes are “central” to a network–they are “pivots” with dense connections to other nodes. If the law enforcement agencies can pinpoint and arrest/monitor members in the center of criminal organizations, they would be able to control these networks and efficaciously prevent criminal activities.
- Equivalence: the concept of equivalence offers guidance for investigating the roles specific members play in a criminal network. Equivalence can be defined in terms of
(1) substitutability: structural equivalence, namely two nodes relate to exactly the same group of nodes
(2) stochastic equivalence: two nodes share identical probability of connecting to a specific node
(3) role equivalence: two nodes have the same position/function in different organizations
The idea of equivalence enables law enforcement agencies to detect alias, predict the existence of members performing particular roles in a criminal group, etc.
- Weak ties: Weak ties function as important channels for the flow of information among different nodes in a network. Therefore, to effectively supervise the activities of a criminal network, the law enforcement agencies ought to primarily focus on communication channels that are infrequently used and separated from compact small cliques (tantamount to weak ties).
I think Sparrow’s paper is meaningful and significant in that it draws attention to the full potential of network theory to support and benefit the realm of criminal intelligence. Though law enforcement department has utilized some network-related techniques before (e.g. Anacapa charts), the use of network theory in this field remained limited. Sparrow provides an account of how network theory concepts can be systematically applied to the analysis of criminal network and be powerful theoretic tools for law enforcement agencies to track, analyze, and prevent criminal activities. It also hints the direction of the future development of criminal intelligence.
Sparrow, Malcolm K. 1991. The application of network analysis to criminal intelligence: An assessment of the prospects. Social Networks, 13(3), 251-274.
Source: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/037887339190008H