Putting the ‘street’ in gang: place and space in the organization of Scotland’s drug-selling gangs

Street gangs, by definition, enjoy a special relationship with the street. Prior research shows that some communities are synonymous with gangs and that turf holds a combination of expressive and instrumental value for gang members. As gangs evolve over time and through different levels of organizat...

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: McLean, Robert (Author) ; Deuchar, Ross 1968- (Author) ; Harding, Simon 1961- (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Published: 2019
In: The British journal of criminology
Year: 2019, Volume: 59, Issue: 2, Pages: 396-415
Online Access: Presumably Free Access
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Keywords:
Street gangs
Neighbourhoods
Territoriality
Organized crime
Scotland
Straßengangs
Nachbarschaft
Organisierte Kriminalität
Description
Summary:Street gangs, by definition, enjoy a special relationship with the street. Prior research shows that some communities are synonymous with gangs and that turf holds a combination of expressive and instrumental value for gang members. As gangs evolve over time and through different levels of organization, however, gangs’ relationship with the street changes. This shifting street dynamic is underexplored in prior research, thus, drawing on qualitative data from Scotland and Bourdieu’s theory of social field, the current study presents three cases of gangs at different stages of evolution and examines how levels of gang organization affect spatial relationships. As gangs accumulate sufficient street capital to evolve, we find territory is defined less physically and more relationally, with implications for gang research and practice.
ISSN:1464-3529
DOI:10.1093/bjc/azy015