The VRC carries out interdisciplinary research on the causes, prevention and consequences of interpersonal violence in national and international societies. In the third of a series of profiles of VRC researchers, we introduce our new Research Associate, Dr Cecilia Meneghini - who works with Dr Paolo Campana - an expert in criminal activities, migrant smuggling, gang violence and illegal markets.
Which are the three questions that drive your work?
- Which neighbourhood-level factors facilitate the emergence of local instances of illegal governance?
- What is the impact of the presence of organised criminal groups on the communities in which they are based?
- How can we best rely on developmental and life-course perspectives to understand (and prevent) the criminal behaviour of serious organised crime offenders?
Which three keywords summarise your research?
- Organised crime
- Criminal networks
- Quantitative longitudinal methodologies
What is the current focus of your studies?
My current research focuses on investigating the local conditions that allow the emergence of forms of illegal governance across communities in the United Kingdom. I am also studying the diffusion of violence in local criminal networks, aiming to investigate how information on network- and offender-level characteristics can be used to prevent future violent outcomes.