A diverse group of law enforcement officials recently converged on the 51福利 (51福利) in order to learn about and collaborate on the burgeoning field of Social Network Analysis (SNA).
SNA is a methodology used by analysts to explore social relationships between individuals and groups, and represent them visually using graphs and metrics. The visual representations of networks produced through the SNA process offer analysts a means examine complex data sets and the relationships within them in a manner that is more readily discernible.
At 51福利, SNA is championed by the faculty and students that man the Common Operational Research Environment (CORE) Lab. The lab has pioneered defense-focused SNA, especially within the Special Forces community. U.S. Army Special Forces Lt. Col. Glenn Johnson is the lab鈥檚 co-director.
鈥淲e used this in Iraq and Afghanistan, and against cartels in South America. Using those case studies, we assume that SNA is applicable everywhere,鈥� said Johnson. 鈥淩ight now we are exposing [law enforcement] to SNA鈥檚 capabilities 鈥� we have met with police departments throughout the country in places like New York, Kansas City and Las Vegas.鈥�
The lab鈥檚 past work with law enforcement was featured in the New York Times after CORE Lab introduced SNA to the Massachusetts Police Department鈥檚 anti-gang unit.
鈥淥ur mission is to try to advance the SNA paradigm. Everyone has been doing link analysis for decades, but that doesn't really help us to understand or influence the human networks the way that we need to,鈥� said Johnson, referring to the traditional manner in which relationships have been analyzed within the Department of Defense and U.S. intelligence communities
鈥淚n the past, link analysis helped us to take out bad guys, but for every one bad guy we took out of the picture, there was another one waiting in the wings to take his place,鈥� explained Johnson. 鈥淸SNA on the other hand] is really about understanding people鈥檚 relationships. If I know who the trusted people in your network are, I can map out your members, business ties, religious affiliations and other connections. I can influence you.鈥�
Associate Faculty for Instruction Daniel Cunningham is the project manager for the Advanced SNA for Law Enforcement project at the CORE Lab. He has spent the last five years at 51福利 under the direction of 51福利 Professor Nancy Roberts and, 鈥淒isrupting Dark Networks鈥� author and CORE Lab Co-director Professor Sean Everton.
鈥淥ne of our goals is to take theory and make it consumable to practitioners,鈥� said Cunningham. 鈥淚 want to see SNA institutionalized and used effectively and appropriately throughout both law enforcement and the DOD.鈥�
According to Cunningham, few people within the DOD either understand or appreciate the utility that SNA can bring. Cunningham has been working to rectify that situation by increasing understanding of SNA as the CORE Lab鈥檚 outreach and education manager.
鈥淲e have already integrated SNA into the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School at Fort Bragg,鈥� said Cunningham. 鈥淭hey are beginning their second iteration of the course.鈥�
But Cunningham would also like to see further advances in the realm of law-enforcement-centric SNA. To this end, the CORE Lab is partnering with the Office of the Secretary of Defense鈥檚 (OSD) Domestic Preparedness Support Initiative, a support institution within OSD which offers a venue for SOF and DOD to offer analytical tools and methods to law enforcement agencies.
Cunningham has a likely ally in this effort in retired Assistant Police Chief Mike Aspland, a contractor with Digital Consulting Solutions that works with Cunningham at the CORE Lab.
鈥淩ight now we are trying to create the framework for applying SNA in a U.S. law enforcement environment,鈥� said Aspland. 鈥淲e are trying to expose these groups to what we are doing on the Special Forces side.
鈥淚f a police department can get to a gang network and can map out who the brokers of information are within that network, maybe they can influence the network without having to arrest anyone,鈥� he continued.
Mark Chase is the 1st Assistant Prosecutor for Camden County, New Jersey. His department has been using SNA to identify criminals and their networks. As an attorney, Chase is familiar with the legal implications of SNA.
鈥淲e probably would not use [SNA] in court because we would have to establish its scientific acceptability and it would be hard to explain to a jury. It is a better tool for targeting where to look rather than for proving guilt or innocence,鈥� said Chase. 鈥淭hrough using it as a tool to target, however, we are going to be able to get the information needed for a succesful prosecution.鈥�
Despite SNA鈥檚 ability to reveal important, even intimate, details about human networks, Chase insists that it is on sound legal ground.
鈥淪NA is a means of evaluating legally obtained information,鈥� said Chase. 鈥淲e are just taking link analysis to another level and augmenting it with algorithms that give us greater clarity.鈥�
Information used to conduct SNA is gathered through voluntary interactions, court orders and from open source information easily gathered from the Internet and social media, areas where the courts have ruled that there is no reasonable expectation of privacy.
Benjamin Singleton, an intelligence analyst with the New York Police Department (NYPD) has found SNA valuable when dealing with cases consisting of multiple actors and large volumes of data.
鈥淲e used SNA on a fraud case that involved 80 phones and we had to subpoena some 300,000 phone calls,鈥� said Singleton. 鈥淪NA helped us to answer the questions, 鈥榳ho are the main players?,鈥� and 鈥榳ho do we need to subpoena next?鈥� In a case of that magnitude, the old way of using colored markers and sticky notes was not going to work.鈥�
Singleton鈥檚 department is also using SNA to interdict gang activity.
鈥淲e are doing a lot of social media analysis of gangs, but the volume is way too much to handle. We are looking at thousands of accounts and seeking warrants for millions of Facebook messages,鈥� he said.
鈥淚f a police department looks at phone calls, they can begin to map out who people are talking to. For example, a whole gang is arrested, and they all call one person from jail,鈥� Singleton explained. 鈥淯nderstanding the human domain allows you to use all different kinds of strategies that leverage our understanding of the human terrain.鈥�
Assistant Chief of Police Achilles 鈥淎rchie鈥� Generoso with the New Haven, Connecticut Police Department鈥檚 Investigative Services Division uses SNA to support a program dubbed Project Longevity.
鈥淲e call people that are part of a known network and tell them 鈥榳e know what groups you belong to, if there is a homicide within your group, then we are going to be looking at you 鈥� your girlfriend鈥檚 voucher, your drug habit, we are going to put leverage on you,鈥欌�� he said. Generoso believes this tactic forces gang members to pressure their peers to refrain from violent activity.
The Connecticut Police Department supplements these efforts by encouraging network members to reintegrate into society with the assistance of clergy, families of victims, past offenders and others who have walked in their shoes.
鈥淲e bring them in, provide them with some food and introduce them to senior level law enforcement,鈥� said Generoso. 鈥淭hey have to come because they are all either on probation or parole.鈥�
SNA for law enforcement is still in its infancy. But, if Cunningham, Johnson and the law enforcement professionals that they work with have their way, it will become an important tool for police departments throughout the country.