ABSTRACT
This chapter focusses specifically on different sets of tensions that shape the ways in which networks form and function. The chapter examines five critical structural and relational tensions that are particularly prominent in law enforcement networks: achieving goal consensus, accountability, power imbalances, managing organisational cultures, and promoting trust. We consider some examples from the criminal intelligence field to illustrate how each of these tensions arise and need to be managed. We then consider how these structural and relational dynamics impact network design. We draw on the wider network literature to examine these internal dynamics and utilise our interviewee data to explore themes emerging from that literature in the context of law enforcement responses to organised criminal activities and the groups that undertake such activities.
