An Introduction to Social Network Analysis for Crime Analysts
An Introduction to Social Network Analysis for Crime Analysts
Register nowDates: Thursday 15th May & Friday 16th May 2025
10am – 4.30pm
Hybrid delivery via zoom and face to face
Venue: Deakin Downtown Melbourne
Cost: $430 p/p
About this Program
This course aims to introduce participants to the application of social network analysis to crime and criminal groups. It offers an overview of the application of network approaches to the work of law enforcement, an assessment of empirical work examining and explaining specific forms of criminality (e.g., cybercrime, terrorism, organised crime), as well as applied methodological and analytical training in the interpretation of network crime data. The course has an applied focus, with specific examples of data and analysis selected for relevance to the work of crime analysts.
Educational Aims
The course has the following educational aims:
- Introduce participants to the central concepts relevant social network analysis.
- Provide an advanced conceptual and applied understanding of the how criminal networks form, operate and proliferate in various contexts.
- Examine the practical implications of research into criminal networks for criminal investigations and crime disruption.
To accomplish these educational objectives, participants will achieve the following learning outcomes:
- To become familiar with key theoretical principles and empirical research surrounding the study of criminal networks
- To explore in-depth international case studies and apply network principles to the study of crime in specific contexts (e.g., gang crime, organised crime, terrorism, cybercrime)
- To analyse and interpret social network data (e.g., to determine targets for intelligence collection, disruption)
To become aware of key debates surrounding the analysis and disruption of criminal networks
Registration
To register for this program, click here
If you have 3 or more participants, please contact pledhub@deakin.edu.au for a discount.
Program staff
Professor David Bright is a criminologist and forensic psychologist. His research interests include criminal networks, organised crime, and illicit markets (e.g., drugs, firearms). He runs the Deakin Covert Networks Lab which conducts ground-breaking research using social network analysis and related approaches to study organised criminal groups and terrorist groups. Professor Bright has been Chief Investigator on five consecutive Australian Research Council (ARC) funded projects in addition to projects funded by industry and government. He is currently appointed to the ARC College of Experts. Professor Bright is the author (with Professor Chad Whelan) of Organised Crime and Law Enforcement: A Network Perspective, published by Routledge in 2021, which applies a network theoretical lens to organised crime.
