More than Accomplices?: A Social Network Analysis of Boston Gang Members

• In Event: Posters II

Abstract

Street gangs are important subjects of study and targets of policy intervention because of their members’ increased risk of criminal involvement as well as victimization. A fairly recent development in gang research has been the application of social network analysis to an urban area’s street gang setting. Much of the work on the social networks of gangs focuses on the gang as the unit of analysis, relating them to one another based on rivalries and alliances. Individual-level work often examines the risk of victimization based on the experiences of one’s social network. Because of the gap in the literature concerning the individual-level, positive relationships between gang members, I examine the co-offending networks of gang members in the Boston area. I aim to understand how members of different gangs relate to one another with respect to their involvement in joint activity. This study provides much-needed evidence concerning how these positive relationships are structured between gangs. In addition, examining the network in relation to the crimes committed by co-offenders further expands the knowledge of the behavior of urban street gang members.

Author

• Alexandra Ciomek, Harvard University