Going solo: the social organisation of drug dealing within a London street gang

Article


Windle, J. and Briggs, Daniel 2015. Going solo: the social organisation of drug dealing within a London street gang. Journal of Youth Studies. 18 (9), pp. 1170-1185.
AuthorsWindle, J. and Briggs, Daniel
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.

JournalJournal of Youth Studies
Journal citation18 (9), pp. 1170-1185
ISSN1469-9680
1367-6261
Year2015
PublisherTaylor & Francis
Accepted author manuscript
License
CC BY
Web address (URL)http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13676261.2015.1020925
Publication dates
Print2015
Publication process dates
Deposited26 Oct 2015
Accepted16 Feb 2015
Copyright informationThis is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Journal of Youth Studies on 11.03.15, available online: http://wwww.tandfonline.com/10.1080/13676261.2015.1020925
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