The (Social) Road Less Traveled: Geographical Distance Between Criminal Associates and Frequency of Police Contacts in a Network of Serious Offenders

• In Event: Gangs, Co-Offending, and Social Networks Across Space and Time

Abstract

Most offenders interact with criminal associates who are in close geographical proximity to one another. Yet, offenders vary in their willingness to travel and cooperate with offenders who reside further away from them. The study examines whether differential patterns in geographical traveled between associates have an impact on the probability of police contacts. The study uses police data to construct the egocentric networks of five serious offenders in British Columbia, Canada. With 20 common associates among targets, the networks merge into a singular network of 205 associates comprising family members, friends and co-offenders. Those offenders who had a criminal record, as well as a firearm or gang status were considered as criminal associates (60%). Although all five initial offenders (or seeds) resided within a few miles from each other, there was a wide variation in the geographical distance traveled between them and their associates. The results indicate that offenders who traveled less to meet with their associates were at an increased risk of police contact, compared to others. In other words, offenders whose associates are geographically distant seem more successful at avoiding contacts with law enforcement.

Authors

• Sadaf Hashimi, Rutgers University

• Martin Bouchard, Simon Fraser University