Social Network Analysis and Gangs

One area in particular that is ripe for the application of social network analysis is the study of street gangs. This chapter extends current applications of social network analysis to the study of gangs by offering a review of the current research, as well as suggesting some potentially fruitful lines of inquiry. It begins with a brief overview of key concepts and terminology in social network analysis, and moves into a more substantive discussion of the use of social network analysis in gang scholarship. The chapter focuses on the network structure of gangs, group-level processes like cohesion and conflict, and applications of social network analysis to violence prevention work. It explains how social network analysis can augment the study of the geographic and social dimensions of gang space, and the new ways in which gangs are making use of virtual space.