Subject Area: Criminology

This course examines organised crime and criminal networks across a number of contexts inclusing drug trafficking, terrorism, and the trade in illicit commodities. During the course we examine critical issues in the field including the debate about whether criminal groups are marked by structure/hierarchy or by flexibility/loose connections. We will also examine the use of Social Network Analysis by law enforcement agencies and researchers to better understand and respond to criminal networks. We will explore the utility of a "networked" perspective within criminology more generally (e.g., to explain trends in neighbourhood crime rates, gang crime). During the course, you will have the opportunity to conduct a case study on a criminal network.