NCJ Number
45467
Journal
HUMAN FACTORS Volume: 17 Issue: 2 Dated: (APRIL 1975) Pages: 157-164
Date Published
1975
Length
8 pages
Annotation
LINK ANALYSIS PROCEDURES DEVELOPED FOR USE BY LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES IN THE PREVENTION AND CONTROL OF ORGANIZED CRIME ARE DESCRIBED AND EVALUATED.
Abstract
LINK ANALYSIS APPLIED TO THE PROBLEM OF ORGANIZED CRIME FOCUSES ON DETERMINING THE PRESENCE OR ABSENCE OF LINKS AMONG INDIVIDUALS. THE DATA BASE USUALLY CONSISTS OF SUCH INFORMATION AS INVESTIGATION REPORTS, ARREST RECORDS, INFORMANT REPORTS, FINANCIAL STATEMENTS, AND NEWSPAPER ARTICLES. THE ANALYSIS IS COMPLETED BY A SIX-STEP APPROACH: (1) ASSEMBLING THE AVAILABLE INFORMATION; (2) ABSTRACTING INFORMATION RELEVANT TO INDIVIDUAL RELATIONSHIPS AND AFFILIATIONS; (3) PREPARING AN ASSOCIATION MATRIX (AN ARRAY OF THE RELATIONSHIPS AMONG A SET OF INDIVIDUALS, NOTING THE STRENGTH OF THE LINKS); (4) DEVELOPING A PRELIMINARY LINK DIAGRAM; (5) INCORPORATING ORGANIZATIONS INTO THE DIAGRAM; AND (6) REFINING THE LINK DIAGRAM. ASSOCIATION MATRICES AND A SIMPLE LINK DIAGRAM ARE ILLUSTRATED. IN ORDER TO EVALUATE THE TECHNIQUE'S EFFECTIVENESS IN LAW ENFORCEMENT PROBLEMS, A STUDY WAS CONDUCTED USING 78 LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS ASSIGNED TO 29 ANALYST TEAMS. EACH TEAM WAS GIVEN IDENTICAL INFORMATION FOR ANALYSIS. EACH PREPARED AN ASSOCIATION MATRIX AND A LINK DIAGRAM AND DEVELOPED A HYPOTHESIS ABOUT THE EXISTENCE OF A CRIMINAL ORGANIZATION AND THE IDENTITY OF ITS CENTRAL FIGURE. THE RESULTING ANALYSES COMPARED FAVORABLY WITH THE CRITERION MATRICES DEVELOPED EARLIER BY THE AUTHORS. SUBSEQUENT FIELD APPLICATIONS OF LINK ANALYSIS BY LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS CONFIRMED THE UTILITY AND POTENTIAL VALUE OF THE PROCEDURE. (VDA)