Publications

June 2005 Communication of ACM has an article Criminal network analysis and visualization by Jennifer Xu, Hsinchun Chen (U. of Arizona, Tucson, AZ) which discusses a new generation of data mining tools and applications work to unearth hidden patterns in large volumes of crime data.

Here is an excerpt:

The study of terrorist networks falls into the larger category of criminal network analysis, which is often applied to investigations of organized crimes (for example, terrorism, narcotics trafficking, fraud, gang-related crimes, armed robbery, and so on). Unlike other types of crimes often committed by single or a few offenders, organized crimes are carried out by multiple, collaborating offenders, who may form groups and teams and play different roles. In a narcotics network, for instance, different groups may be responsible for handling the drug supply, distribution, sales, smuggling, and money laundering. In each group, there may be a leader who issues commands and provides steering mechanisms to the group, as well as gatekeepers who ensure that information and drugs flow effectively to and from other groups. Criminal network analysis therefore requires the ability to integrate information from multiple crime incidents or even multiple sources and discover regular patterns about the structure, organization, operation, and information flow in criminal networks.

Here is the article in ACM Digital Library (subscription required) Criminal network analysis and visualization.