Geographical Clustering and Gang Relationships in the United States

Abstract

Gangs are a group of individuals that have a deep understanding of how they form and maintain friendships in unbounded geographic spaces. Recent advances in communication technology and social media platforms, such as Facebook and Twitter, have respatialized how individuals interact, enabling gang members to re-spatialize their interactions. This study aims to quantify the impact of location on gang member connections in the United States using an exponential random graph model of Twitter data. The results show that the geographic clustering of the population sample and the distribution of gangs across different cities are similar. The findings of this study provide a theoretical framework for analyzing gang formation and behavior in a contemporary context.