A Man’s world? Comparing the structural positions of men and women in an organized criminal network

Diviák, Tomáš; Coutinho, James A.; Stivala, Alex

doi:10.21428/cb6ab371.2da89139

Cited by 2 publications

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“…As Morrison (1995) notes, organized crime is not an equal opportunities employer; it is male dominated, and women's participation is limited. It thus follows that this will be reflected in the sphere of representation (see also Diviák et al, 2020). Organized crime narratives focus on men's stories in a male dominated setting where the portrayal of masculinity is inextricably linked to violence as both instrumental, for financial and business gain, but also as a performance and an affirmation of masculinity.…”

Section: Masculinity and Class In The Portrayal Of Violent Subjectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The cultural scope and criminological potential of the “hardman story”

Wattis

2021

Crime, Media, Culture

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The true crime genre has become synonymous with the serial killer. As such, other narratives dealing with different types of violent criminal subjects have been overlooked in academic and media analyses. The following article explores a subgenre of true crime which has been overlooked—the life story of the violent criminal or “hardman biography.” However, in acknowledging the hardman, the discussion also reveals his presence across fact/fiction boundaries and a range of cultural terrain. Following a discussion of the cultural space this figure occupies, I turn my attention to hardman stories which exist predominantly in the local imaginary and focus on one such text which tells the story of a violent protagonist and cultures of crime and violence in the North of England in the late 1980s and early 1990s. In so doing, I focus on how this text animates cultures of violence and marginality left in the wake of deindustrialization and economic decline, combining this with relevant theoretical and ethnographic work. I conclude by arguing that the text is a further example of the way in which popular criminology can complement and advance academic criminological understandings of crime and violence.

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Section: Masculinity and Class In The Portrayal Of Violent Subjectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The cultural scope and criminological potential of the “hardman story”

Wattis

2021

Crime, Media, Culture

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“…The structure of these networks is pivotal; networks with denser connections and a smaller average maximum distance between any two nodes are more efficient in communication, aiding in the growth and functionality of the organization. Conversely, secure networks maintain higher social distance between members, reducing the risk of complete exposure when a member is compromised [12][13][14][15][16]. The security-efficiency trade-off is, thus, a spectrum that characterizes networks based on their connectivity structure.…”

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confidence: 99%

Criminal organizations exhibit hysteresis, resilience, and robustness by balancing security and efficiency

Elteren,

Lees,

Vasconcelos

2024

Preprint

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The interplay between (criminal) organizations and (law enforcement) disruption strategies is critical in criminology and social network analysis. Like legitimate businesses, criminal enterprises thrive by fulfilling specific demands and navigating their unique challenges, including balancing operational visibility and security. This study aims at comprehending criminal networks' internal dynamics, resilience to law enforcement interventions, and robustness to changes in external conditions. Using a model based on evolutionary game theory, we analyze these networks as collaborative assemblies of roles, considering expected costs, potential benefits, and the certainty of expected outcomes. Here, we show that criminal organizations exhibit strong hysteresis effects, with increased resilience and robustness once established, challenging the effectiveness of traditional law enforcement strategies focused on deterrence through increased punishment. The hysteresis effect defines optimal thresholds for the formation or dissolution of criminal organisation. Our findings indicate that interventions of similar magnitude can lead to vastly different outcomes depending on the existing state of criminality. This result suggests that the relationship between stricter punishment and its deterrent effect on organized crime is complex and sometimes non-linear. Furthermore, we demonstrate that network structure, specifically interconnectedness (link density) and assortativity of specialized skills, significantly influences the formation and stability of criminal organizations, underscoring the importance of considering social connections and the accessibility of roles in combating organized crime. These insights contribute to a deeper understanding of the systemic nature of criminal behavior from an evolutionary perspective and highlight the need for adaptive, strategic approaches in policy-making and law enforcement to disrupt criminal networks effectively.

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A Man’s world? Comparing the structural positions of men and women in an organized criminal network

Cited by 2 publications

References 0 publications

The cultural scope and criminological potential of the “hardman story”

The cultural scope and criminological potential of the “hardman story”

Criminal organizations exhibit hysteresis, resilience, and robustness by balancing security and efficiency

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