Marie Ouellet is an Assistant Professor in the School of Criminology at Simon Fraser University. Her research applies network science to better understand the ways relationships and interactions shape offending patterns, criminal mobility, and group evolution.
Ouellet’s research on these topics has been published in Criminology, Criminology & Public Policy, Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, Justice Quarterly, and Social Networks among other outlets.
She received her PhD in Criminology from Simon Fraser University in 2016, and an MA in Criminology from the Université de Montréal in 2012.
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This project explores how criminal groups operate and connect in online spaces.
This project examines the role of workplace interactions and informal relationships in guiding police work and shaping officer behaviors.
This project seeks to identify the ways networks structure criminal mobility within virtual and physical spaces.
Considerable attention has been devoted to understanding police socialization and the resulting culture, yet only recently have scholars turned to a network approach to understand the social relationships between officers. We extend these efforts with results from a pilot study of officer networks in a large US police department. Network data are collected from 88 front-line officers to examine officers’ informal working relationships. Our findings shed light on the connected nature of officer relationships, showing how personal support networks intersect and diverge from more formal advice and mentorship networks. The study provides an alternative starting point for understanding socialization as a vehicle of officer attitudes, values, and behaviors. Likewise, it demonstrates the applicability of a network approach for understanding departments’ social and structural organization. We conclude with a discussion on how officer networks can inform meaningful policy initiatives, including shifting organizational climate, enhancing retention, and curbing abuses