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Organised Crime and Criminal Networks

Module description

The module will introduce you to the study of organised forms of criminality. It starts by discussing what organised crime is, and then covers topical issues in the study of organised crime: drug production and trafficking, human trafficking, mafia-type organisations, gangs, extra-legal governance and violence. Emphasis will be placed on equipping students with both the theoretical concepts and the practical tools needed to study the relational dimension of crime, with an introduction to the use of social network analysis to study different forms of organised crime and criminal networks, using appropriate software.

Module aims - intentions of the module

This module aims to introduce students to the study of organised crime and criminal networks, with a focus on the relational dimension of these criminal phenomena. During the lectures, students will learn about the structure and organisation of organised criminal groups, the relational mapping of trafficking flows for different illicit commodities, and the study of violence diffusion and contagion within criminal networks. During the practical lab sessions, students will learn the practical tools required to conduct an analysis of criminal networks, with specific attention to operational and policy implications. Although the module draws from methods used to study organised crime and criminal networks, the acquired skills can be used in a variety of other social science disciplines.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 1. Demonstrate a good knowledge of the various forms of organised crime and the methods used to investigate it.
• 2. Demonstrate an understanding of the relational dynamics impacting organised criminal groups’ formation, structure, activities, and dissolution.
• 3. Demonstrate the ability to utilise social network analysis to study the structure and dynamics of organised crime and criminal networks.

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 4. Develop critical thinking skills for interpreting crime-related relational data.
• 5. Reflect on the relevance of considering relational dimensions in crime research, including implications for relevant policy.

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 6. Demonstrate the ability to use statistical software to analyse relational dynamics.
• 7. Demonstrate written analytical skills by producing clear written reports on deadline.

Syllabus plan

Whilst the module’s precise content may vary from year to year, it is envisaged that the syllabus will cover some or all of the following themes:

• Forms of organised crime
• Structure and organisation of organised crime groups
• Orientation to relational thinking in criminology
• Network graphs: basic concepts and definitions
• Network descriptive statistics and centrality measures
• Basic strategies for analysing criminal networks
• Network analysis of organised crime
• Network analysis of illicit trafficking flows
• Diffusion and learning processes in criminal networks

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Formative assessment

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Details of summative assessment

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

• Bichler, G. (2019). Understanding criminal networks: A research guide. University of California Press.
• Campana, P. and Varese, F. (2018) ‘Organised crime in the United Kingdom: illegal governance of markets and communities’, British Journal of Criminology, 58(6), 1381-1400.
• Decker, S. H., Pyrooz, D., & Densley, J. A. (2022). On gangs. Temple University Press.
• Morselli, C. (Ed.). (2014). Crime and networks. Routledge.
• Morselli, C. (2009). Inside Criminal Networks (Vol. 8). Springer New York.
• Paoli, L. (Ed.). (2014). The Oxford Handbook of Organized Crime. Oxford University Press.
• Reuter, P. (1983). Disorganized crime: The economics of the visible hand. MIT Press.
• Yang, S., Keller, F., & Zheng, L. (2016). Social network analysis: Methods and examples. Sage.

Key words search

Organised crime, criminal networks, gangs, illicit trafficking, social network analysis.