Document Type : scientific

Author

• Seyed Hossein Hosseini

Department of Criminal Law and Criminology, Faculty of Law and Political Science, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran.

Abstract

Criminal policy has traditionally paid limited attention to systemic relationships among institutions and actors. Using a network analysis approach grounded in Delmas-Marty’s conceptual framework, this article examines the criminal justice network as a systemic, relationship-oriented structure whose functioning depends on the organization of relationships, data flows, and power distribution. The central question concerns the mechanisms through which the criminal network operates as open, closed, or relatively open, and the role of intervening factors in shaping these forms. Using an analytical-descriptive method based on conceptual and institutional analysis, the study demonstrates that openness and closure constitute a spectral phenomenon that varies according to the type of actor, the stage of the criminal process, and the nature of the crime, and therefore cannot be reduced to a rigid binary. Examining the positions of the accused, the victim, and civil society reveals that the degree of participation or restriction of each directly affects network permeability, interaction flows, and the concentration or distribution of decision-making power. Accordingly, an open criminal network corresponds to the democratic state–society model, while a closed network aligns with a closed governance model. Network analysis is therefore presented as an effective tool for understanding and evaluating criminal policy.

Keywords

• Criminal Network
• Criminal Policy
• Network Analysis
• Systems Thinking
• Network Openness/Closure
• Criminal Actors

Main Subjects

• Criminal Law