Who is involved in criminal networks, where are they located? How is the criminal network organised and structured?
Background
Understanding the drivers and pathways into criminal activity, as well as the perceptions,
motivations and decision-making of criminals is essential to formulating the necessary
prevention and enforcement strategies. It is also important to understand how different types
of criminality intersect and enable each other as part of understanding the wider criminal
ecosystem. This can help to determine how disrupting one form of offending behaviour can
impact other forms of criminality. Below sets out the key gaps in our understanding of
offender pathways and behaviours
Next steps
Get in touch with [email protected] [email protected]
Source
This question was published as part of the set of ARIs in this document:
Economic Crime Areas of Research Interest ARI report July 2025 1
Topics
No topics assigned yet
Research fields
No research fields assigned yet
Related UKRI funded projects
-
Strategic Hub for Organised Crime Research
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
Why might this be relevant?
The project focuses on understanding criminal networks, their organization, and structure, with the necessary expertise.
-
Peterborough Adolescent to Adult Development Study: PADS+ Phase 3
People's social lives are integral to their criminal careers. The fact that social relationships and experiences are important for understanding people's crime involvement is well established (e.g., Kornhauser 1978; Laub...
Funded by: ESRC
Lead research organisation: University of Cambridge
Why might this be relevant?
The project focuses on understanding the role of social lives in criminal behavior and provides extensive data and theoretical guidance to address the question fully.
-
UNOC: Understanding the Nexus of Organised Crime: Policing in Marginalised Communities linked with organised Crime: Best Practice Network Development
A lattice of social, economic and psychological factors supports recruitment to both criminal and terrorist networks. A combination of broken families, social decay, bad housing, few amenities, poor education and limited...
Funded by: ESRC
Lead research organisation: University of Surrey
Why might this be relevant?
The project examines the nexus of organised crime in marginalised communities and the role of policing in combating transnational crime, addressing the question fully.