Citation

Van der Hulst RC. Justitiele Verkenn. 2008; 34(5): 10-32.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2008, Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek- en Documentatiecentrum)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

More safety is needed in our society. This need is reflected in the recent policy plans of the Dutch government launching a boost in the combat of fraud, human trafficking, financial-economic and other capital crimes (including ideologically motivated crimes and terrorism). Increased knowledge and insights about the functioning of criminal networks (strengths and weaknesses) are the corner stones to improve preventive and intervention measures. This calls for innovative methods, research and instruments that reveal the opportunity structures and mechanisms behind criminal behavior. Social network analysis (SNA) can be considered a promising perspective to provide key information about the functioning of criminal networks and key players. Given that the concept of network analysis is more and more of topical interest to Dutch policymakers and law enforcement, the questions that are central in this paper are: what is social network analysis, what is the underlying theory, and what kind of information is generated that allows to get to more grips on criminal phenomena?