Big Data and organised crime: Mapping academic discourses through a scoping review (2009-2023)

This article presents a scoping review of academic discourses on Big Data and organised crime, mapping their nature and implications. Following the scoping review framework proposed by Arksey and O’Malley (2005) and Levac et al. (2010), a systematic search across four electronic databases identified 19 relevant studies. Using the discourse typology proposed by Stevens et al. (2018), three dominant discourses were identified: instrumentalist, modernist, and pragmatist. The instrumentalist discourse, the most prevalent, frames Big Data as a technical solution for detecting and predicting organised crime, often overlooking ethical, social, and practical limitations. Modernist perspectives emphasise paradigm shifts in knowledge production, while pragmatist accounts highlight interdisciplinary collaboration and the consideration of risks in real-world implementation. Critical-interpretive and scientist discourses were absent. The review underscores the predominance of computer science approaches, with limited engagement from social sciences, ethics, or law.