Criminal network analysis and visualization

The introduction of various technological solutions for uncovering terrorist networks to enhance public safety and national security is discussed. Under the first generation: manual approach, an analyst must first construct an association matrix by identifying criminal associations from raw data, based on which a link chart for visualization purposes can be drawn. Under the second generation: graphic-based approach, most existing network tools of which include Analysts' Notebook, Netmap, and XANALYS LINK Explorer, the tools automatically produce graphical representations of criminal networks. The third generation: social network analysis (SNA) approach is expected to provide more advanced analytical functionality to assist crime investigation.