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Going solo: the social organisation of drug dealing within a London street gang.
- Source :
- Journal of Youth Studies; Nov2015, Vol. 18 Issue 9, p1170-1185, 16p
- Publication Year :
- 2015
-
Abstract
- This paper presents a single case study of one street gang in one London borough. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 gang members, or former gang members, and seven practitioners. The practitioners and gang members/ex-gang members reported different perspectives on how the gang was structured and drug dealing was organised. The gang members/ex-gang members suggested that the gang is a loose social network with little recognisable formal organisation. Although individual gang members sell drugs, the gang should not be viewed as a drug dealing organisation. Rather it is a composition of individual drug dealers who cooperate out of mutual self-interest. Therefore, some gang members are best described as independent entrepreneurs while others are subcontractors looking to ‘go solo’. The seven practitioners, however, tended to describe a more hierarchically structured gang, with formal recruitment processes. This divergence of perspective highlights an important consideration for policy and research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Subjects :
- SOCIAL structure
GANGS
DRUG traffic
SELF-interest
GANG members
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 13676261
- Volume :
- 18
- Issue :
- 9
- Database :
- Complementary Index
- Journal :
- Journal of Youth Studies
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 109421972
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1080/13676261.2015.1020925