Conceptualising and operationalising kinship-based organised crime: a scoping review

Abstract Kinship-based organised crime (KBOC) has attracted growing media attention in Northern Europe but remains under-researched in the academic literature. To address this gap, a scoping review was conducted to identify the key structural and behavioural characteristics of family-based criminal networks across diverse geographical, cultural, and research contexts, thereby providing a more nuanced understanding of KBOC networks. The analysis revealed eight core characteristics of kinship-based organised crime: intergenerational transmission of crime, concentration of criminal activity, overlap between familial and criminal structures, intermarriage between crime families, social seclusion, governance-type crime, organised criminal activities, and the use of violence. These findings indicate that KBOC networks exhibit distinctive internal dynamics that differentiate them from other forms of organised crime and provide the basis for an initial conceptual framework for understanding these networks. The study concludes by emphasising the urgent need for data-driven and empirical research to enable systematic structural comparisons and inform the development of effective prevention and intervention strategies.