The Com Networks Community brings together academics, practitioners, researchers, policy leads, and operational leaders to address gaps in understanding com groups, the research methods and behavioural analytics used to study them, and how these insights can support multi-agency prevention and response.
NABS+ roundtables involving academics, practitioners, policy makers, and law enforcement, highlighted a shared set of needs:
- Research on (dis)engagement mechanisms, motivations, and pathways; on the scope and nature of the com group ecosystem, and on interventions to protect and disrupt.
- Innovation in behavioural analytics andmethods to analyse data from com group online interactions.
- Best practice guidelines for working with, accessing, and sharing com group data, including practices for protecting researcher/practitioner wellbeing and ethics.
- A multi-agency definition of com networks, to facilitate operational responses and coordination.
- A multi-agency strategy to share new insights/standard operating procedures across agencies and deconflict and clarify operational responses.
- Educational and training material for frontline staff, parents and carers, and law enforcement.
- International collaboration between law enforcement agencies, and between academic researchers and law enforcement.
The CoP will provide the structure to coordinate learning, approaches, and build a coherent evidence base.
Objectives
The Community will be focused on sharing insights. The first course of action will be to agree its objectives and activities. Some of the activities that could be undertaken includes:
- Identifying existing relevant academic research and developing new theoretical frameworks.
- Sharing new research insights on (dis)engagement mechanisms, motivations, and pathways; the scope and nature of the com group ecosystem, and on interventions to protect and disrupt.
- Identifying and designing practical interventions for detecting and mitigating harm.
- Developing ethical and practical guidance on data access and use, and researcher/practitioner wellbeing.
- Building a shared research agenda, including behavioural analytic approaches.
- Sharing learning and integrated practice across agencies to facilitate coordination.
How to join
Members will be representatives from academia, NCA, policing, Home Office, Department for Education, NHS, National Security, and industry. It should include ethics specialists. An initial set-up meeting will determine the best format moving forward, which may include quarterly seminars, thematic workshops, and a shared knowledge repository.
The benefits of joining include:
- A coherent, clear understanding of existing and current academic research relevant to com networks.
- A coherent, coordinated international approach to mitigating the threats, risks and harms associated with com networks.
- Enabling evidence‑based decision making and de-duplication of effort.
- Improving awareness, detection, intervention, and victim experience.
- Reducing harm to researchers and practitioners.