Highlights

Abstract

Keywords

Introduction

Search protocol

Criminal justice system data and social network analysis

Taking an archaeological approach to working with criminal justice records

Charting a way forward for social network researchers

Appendix A. Investigative records

Appendix B. Law enforcement intelligence reports and threat assessments

Appendix C. Offender databases

Appendix D. Prosecution files

Appendix E. Court files

Appendix F. Departmental inquiries or commissions

Appendix G. Multiple criminal justice sources

References

Abstract

The use of social network analysis to study groups of offenders engaged in illicit activities such as drug trafficking and terrorism has grown in popularity over the last three decades. Along with such growth, however, researchers have been confronted with a suite of challenges related to the use of data extracted from criminal justice records. In this paper, we review these challenges through a discussion of the extant empirical literature utilizing social network analysis approaches that draw data from the criminal justice system. First, we outline and discuss the different types of data used across this literature. Second, we chronicle the challenges that have emerged across the field of criminal networks via a comprehensive review of the literature. In particular, we draw on the documented experiences of researchers in the field, including our own, and detail “archeological” approaches that future researchers can utilize to adapt and overcome said challenges. The use of criminal justice records can suffer from a number of limitations, mainly with respect to accuracy, validity and reliability. Such data may include errors, both intentional (e.g. aliases, false information) and unintentional (e.g. transcription errors), including missing data. The use of criminal justice records present particular problems with defining the network boundary as the boundary as determined by law enforcement or prosecution agencies may not correspond to the boundary as defined by network members. We conclude by offering a number of recommendations for researchers about data collection and preparation when utilizing criminal justice records.

Introduction

In his seminal text, Outsiders, Howard Becker (1963) noted that “the most persistent difficulty in the scientific study of deviant behavior is the lack of solid data” (p.165). This sentiment applies to all types of research on crime, criminals and criminal behavior. Crime is usually hidden and often undetected, and criminals tend to maintain social barriers between themselves and out-group members including researchers. Not to be deterred, innovative researchers have sought out novel sources of data and analytical approaches to provide more robust understandings of crime. In recent years, social network approaches that involve the collection of criminal justice records on actors and the links between them, have provided powerful new ways to study crime and understand criminal networks. Criminal justice records can yield unique insights into offence and offender characteristics that can permit the mapping of the diverse connections that exist between criminal actors. Social network analysis (SNA) can then be used to enhance understandings of how emergent social structures shape various criminal activities, and how crime can be controlled (Brewer, 2017; Morselli, 2009b). The use of social network analysis to study groups of offenders engaged in illicit activities such as drug trafficking and terrorism has grown in popularity over the last three decades. Indeed, in a recent article, Faust and Tita (2019) predict that the field has been evolving such that “network methods [will] become part of the standard toolkit in criminological research” (p. 117). Along with such growth, however, researchers have been confronted with a suite of challenges related to the extraction and use of data collected from criminal justice records.