Crimes such as homicide and theft, and drugs such as heroin and cocaine have always been of public concern, and there has been a recent focus on areas such as child sexual abuse, modern slavery, new psychoactive substances, online fraud, and online indecent images of children.
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This question was published as part of the set of ARIs in this document:
Areas of research interest relevant to the Home Office GOVUK
Online and electronic crime now account for about half of all property crime, in all countries for which we have good victimisation data. A significant number of other offences, including harassment, also happen online. ...
Funded by: ESRC
Lead research organisation: University of Cambridge
The project focuses on studying online crime and understanding how young people get drawn into crime, which is relevant to the question of how social media can facilitate and discourage crime and recruitment into organized crime groups.
The role of online technologies in organised crime is growing, as it is in wider society. Traditionally, organised criminals would threaten or (in the UK) much less often resort to the use of violence and intimidation to...
Funded by: ESRC
Lead research organisation: Cardiff University
The project specifically addresses the role of online technologies in facilitating organized crime, which is directly related to the question.
In December 2014, RUSI launched a Strategic Hub for Organised Crime Research to develop a world class research agenda that meets the needs of policymakers. With the support of government agencies and Research Councils UK...
Funded by: ESRC
Lead research organisation: Royal United Services Institute
The project focuses on bridging the gap between academic research on organized crime and the needs of policymakers, but does not directly address the question of how social media can facilitate and discourage crime and recruitment into organized crime groups.