Criminals in Prisoners’ Social Networks Prior to Their Incarceration: a Multilevel Analysis

A common finding in the field of criminology is that criminal network members encourage criminal behavior. However, empirical studies on the criminal networks of prisoners and adult offenders in general are limited. This study examines the presence and characteristics of criminals in prisoners’ core discussion network prior to their incarceration. The core discussion network refers to the inner social circle of people and plays an important role in affecting people’s behavior. By analyzing detailed network data of 1909 prisoners, we find that one in seven prisoners had core discussion network members who provided them with criminal knowledge, and one in five prisoners had core discussion network members who were involved in criminal activities. Multilevel analyses show that prior to incarceration: 1) friends, men and same-age counterparts are more likely to be criminal network members; 2) prisoners who served more prison spells are more likely to have criminal core discussion network members, and 3) relationships of (high) trust are less likely to be relationships with criminal core discussion