Geographical influences of an emerging network of gang rivalries

Authored by Rachel A. Hegemann, Laura M. Smith, Alethea B. T. Barbaro, Andrea L. Bertozzi, Shannon E. Reid, George E. Tita

Date Published: 2011-10-15

DOI: 10.1016/j.physa.2011.05.040

Sponsors: United States Army United States National Science Foundation (NSF)

Platforms: No platforms listed

Model Documentation: Other Narrative Flow charts Mathematical description

Model Code URLs: Model code not found

Abstract

We propose an agent-based model to simulate the creation of street gang rivalries. The movement dynamics of agents are coupled to an evolving network of gang rivalries, which is determined by previous interactions among agents in the system. Basic gang data, geographic information, and behavioral dynamics suggested by the criminology literature are integrated into the model. The major highways, rivers, and the locations of gangs' centers of activity influence the agents' motion. We use a policing division of the Los Angeles Police Department as a case study to test our model. We apply common metrics from graph theory to analyze our model, comparing networks produced by our simulations and an instance of a Geographical Threshold Graph to the existing network from the criminology literature. (C) 2011 Elsevier By. All rights reserved.

Tags

Agent-based model Complex system Biased Levy walk Dynamic network Gang rivalry Geographical Threshold Graph