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Going solo: the social organisation of drug dealing within a London street gang
- Source :
- Journal of Youth Studies. 18:1170-1185
- Publication Year :
- 2015
- Publisher :
- Informa UK Limited, 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. 0.973 JCR (2015) Q2, 40/93 Social sciences, interdisciplinary UEM
- Subjects :
- Sociology and Political Science
Social network
Divergence (linguistics)
business.industry
Crimen organizado
Crimen
Co-offending
Social organisation
Tráfico de estupefacientes
General Social Sciences
Single-subject design
Criminology
Gangs
Borough
Drug dealing
Illicit entrepreneurs
Crime
Drogas - Tráfico
Life-span and Life-course Studies
Psychology
business
Composition (language)
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 14699680 and 13676261
- Volume :
- 18
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Journal of Youth Studies
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....8d954e103b21b6b8e003fd86e441b823