ABSTRACT
This chapter makes a contribution to this scholarship by undertaking an empirical assessment of the macro-structural and micro-properties of network flows that constitute the delivery of security. The convergence of various public and private actors is examined in a waterfront setting, by mapping the complex dimensions of security network activity at Australia's busiest port, the Port of Melbourne. Data for this study are drawn from in-depth interviews with the full-array of actors involved in security and use a multi-method analytical framework that integrates social network analysis (SNA) alongside an analysis of qualitative narratives. The chapter provides an empirical assessment of the macro-structural and micro-properties of a pluralised security network, and provides new insights into the theoretical significance of brokerage that enhance current understandings of the configuration of crime control. It fleshes out the root of these capabilities: a product of the prodigious efforts of several actors who position themselves strategically as brokers of information and conduits of exchange.
