Abstract
This article explores the potential of social network analysis as a tool in supporting the investigation of internal child sex trafficking in the UK. In doing so, it uses only data, software, and training already available to UK police. Data from two major operations are analysed using in-built centrality metrics, designed to measure a network’s overarching structural properties and identify particularly powerful individuals. This work addresses victim networks alongside offender networks. The insights generated by SNA inform ideas for targeted interventions based on the principles of Situational Crime Prevention. These harm-reduction initiatives go beyond traditional enforcement to cover prevention, disruption, prosecution, etc. This article ends by discussing how SNA can be applied and further developed by frontline policing, strategic policing, prosecution, and policy and research.
Highlights
Recent decades have seen a shift from reactive enforcement-led policing towards more proactive and collaborative approaches (Waters, 2007), like intelligence-led policing (ILP) and problemoriented policing (POP) (Maguire, 1998)
This article forms part of a pair of articles exploring the application of crime science tools to internal child sex trafficking: its complement is an analysis of crime scripting (Brayley et al, 2011)
We focused on ICST, social network analysis (SNA) is useful for
Summary
Recent decades have seen a shift from reactive enforcement-led policing towards more proactive and collaborative approaches (Waters, 2007), like intelligence-led policing (ILP) and problemoriented policing (POP) (Maguire, 1998). SNA can reveal the relative importance of each entity by analysing power as conferred by links to other network members, rather than individual personality traits (Hanneman and Riddle, 2005). SNA is not completely objective: results are influenced by decisions on the entities included, types of links used and metrics applied. This article will demonstrate how SNA can use existing police data, software, and capabilities to shed light on an under-researched crime type and inform novel intervention ideas.
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