The structure of cooperation among organized crime groups: A network study of Merseyside, UK

This study reconstructs the cooperation network among 134 organized crime groups (OCGs) operating in an urban setting by leveraging a dataset of 5239 police crime reports (January 2015 to March 2018). While 63 % of groups cooperated with at least another group (median 2.8, maximum 9), cooperation remains subject to constraints, with a maximum of 3.3 % of all possible ties being established, and there is a strong tendency towards clusterization. Moving to the determinants of such structure, the study finds that only one type of revenue-generating criminal activity has a structuring effect on the OCG landscape: drug trafficking. This sets drug trafficking apart from acquisitive crime. Results also suggest that OCGs decrease risk by collaborating with groups that also collaborate with a partner OCG. This holds when controlling for spatial proximity. This work also shows that more central groups in the cooperation network tend to use violence more often. This study points to two main implications. Firstly, it highlights the importance of considering self-organized groups of offenders as entities in their own right when developing interventions; secondly, it stresses the importance of group-level relational mapping and associated mechanisms. Methodologically, it emphasizes the importance of criminal groups as a unit of analysis. • Cooperation among OCGs is subject to constraints and presents a strong tendency towards clusterization; yet, it takes place. • Drug trafficking is the only revenue-generating activity to have a structuring effect on the OCG cooperative landscape. • Central structural positions in the cooperative network are associated with higher levels of violent behavior. • Relational analysis of criminal landscapes is key to developing targeted interventions. • Criminal groups are a crucial yet often neglected unit of analysis.