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The Social Network Consequences of a Gang Murder Blowout

Author

Listed:
  • Alice Airola

    (School of Criminology, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC V5A 1S6, Canada)

  • Martin Bouchard

    (School of Criminology, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC V5A 1S6, Canada)

Abstract

An unexpected crisis in a criminal organization offers a rare opportunity to analyze whether and how the configuration of business and trust relationships changes in response to external shocks. The current study recreates the social network of the Red Scorpion gang members involved in the Surrey Six Murder, one of the deadliest gang-related homicides to occur in Canada. The event, which involved two bystanders and six victims in total, was the result of a poorly executed retaliation. Our analyses focus on two phases of the network, the conspiracy phase and the post-murder phase. In each phase, we examine the balance of business, trust, and conflictual ties. Results show that the relative importance of key participants changed from the conspiracy to the post-murder phases, whereby strong, trusted ties gained prominence over the mostly business-oriented network of the conspiracy phase.

Suggested Citation

  • Alice Airola & Martin Bouchard, 2020. "The Social Network Consequences of a Gang Murder Blowout," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 9(11), pages 1-15, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jscscx:v:9:y:2020:i:11:p:204-:d:443220
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Matthew Valasik & Shannon E. Reid, 2021. "“The More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same”: Research on Gang-Related Violence in the 21st Century—Introduction to Special Issue," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 10(6), pages 1-5, June.
    2. Gravel, Jason & Bouchard, Martin, 2025. "The tangled history of social network analysis and gang research—A long way from Street Corner Society," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 101(C).

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