An Ethnography of Drug Markets and Youth Transitions in Times of Austerity
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MEN AT WORK: AN ETHNOGRAPHY OF DRUG MARKETS AND YOUTH TRANSITIONS IN TIMES OF AUSTERITY A thesis submitted to The University of Manchester for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Criminology in the Faculty of Humanities 2013 MICHAEL SALINAS EDWARDS SCHOOL OF LAW Centre for Criminology and Criminal Justice Table of Contents Chapter Title Page Title Page 1 Contents Page 2 List of tables 3 Abstract 8 Declaration & Copyright Statement 9 Acknowledgments & Dedications 10 Chapter 1. Introduction: The research & the research journey 11 1.1 Drug dealers and drug markets: Challenging popular (mis)perceptions 12 1.2 Research Journey 17 1.2.1. Early years: Embedded within a delinquent peer group 18 1.2.2. Becoming a ‘researcher’: Embedded within delinquent peer groups 18 1.2.3. Undergraduate fieldwork: Embedded within ‘The Lads’ network 19 1.2.4. Postgraduate fieldwork 21 1.3 Research objectives and thesis structure 23 Chapter 2. Studying a closed-market social-network of drug dealers: Methods and Methodological Reflections 26 2.1 Ethnography as the method 26 2.2 Data Collection 29 2.2.1 Incorporating previous data (from 2006-2010) 29 2.2.2 Participant Observation (Overt/Semi-covert) 30 2.2.3 Interviews 31 2.2.4 Financial data 33 2.2.5 Social Network Analysis 34 2.3 Data Analysis 35 2.3.1 Sampling 35 2.3.2 Ethnographic Validity 36 2.3.3 Generalizability 37 2 2.4 Ethical Concerns 38 2.4.1 Witnessing criminal acts 38 2.4.2 Access via friendship: The benefits and ethical dilemmas 40 2.4.3 Researcher role 44 2.4.4 Privacy and confidentiality 45 2.4.5 Risk to the researcher 46 2.4.6 Problematic drug use 48 2.5 The Lads: A Brief Background 49 2.5.1 The Lads 49 2.5.2 Participant Characteristics 50 2.5.3 Justifying the study’s empirical focus: ‘A man’s world’? 53 2.6. Research Sites 53 2.6.1 Tanners Town 53 2.6.2 The Mediterranean Resort 55 2.6.3 Top City 56 2.6.4 Economic Context 56 2.7 Conclusion 57 Chapter 3. Staying ‘silent’: Mitigating the risks of detection 59 and prosecution in the illegal drug market 3.1 Introduction: risk reduction within drug markets 59 3.2 Literature 60 3.3 Findings 63 3.4 Off limits, off radar: The protection inherent in closed markets 63 3.5 Risks for all involved in drug distribution 66 3.5.1 The risks of drug transit 66 3.5.2 Vehicle stashes 66 3.5.3 Personal stash 67 3.5.4 Communication interception and retrieval 67 3.5.5 Coded language 70 3.6 Risks with retail distribution 72 3.6.1 Storage & the ‘Dead Letterbox’ stash 73 3.7 Risks with wholesale distribution 76 3.7.1 Clearing stock 77 3.7.2 Sourcing out the labour 77 3.7.3 Sourcing out the labour: ‘the grafter’ 78 3.7.4 Sourcing out the labour: ‘the muscle’ 79 3 3.8 The tentacles of trade: Risks with cross-border trading 81 3.8.1 ‘The Med’ 81 3.8.2 Cutting out the middlemen: Transporting drugs abroad 82 3.8.3 An alternative mode of cross-border transportation 84 3.9 Evaluating the success of risk-mitigation techniques 85 3.9.1 Success stories 85 3.9.2 Cautionary tales 87 3.9.3 A police officer’s perspective 88 3.10 Conclusion; Not so risky business? 90 Chapter 4. Black Credit: Informality and efficiency in an underground economy 93 4.1 Black Credit: Introduction 93 4.2 The literature 95 4.2.1 Prevalence 96 4.2.2 Procedure 99 4.2.3 Enforcement 100 4.2.4 Use as a reward 102 4.2.5 A behavioural economics perspective 102 4.2.6 The effects of ‘liquidity-constraints’ 103 4.2.7 Greater consumption? 104 4.2.8 Summary of Literature 105 4.3 Black Credit: Findings 105 4.4 How black credit functioned within The Lads’ networks 106 4.4.1 An overview of black credit at the individual and systematic level 106 4.4.2 An illustration of a one-week credit cycle: 107 A cocaine case study 4.5 Black credit: The benefits from the dealer’s perspective 111 4.5.1 Liquidity-constraints: Once a problem… Not any more 111 4.5.2 Market entry as teenagers: Capital accumulation 111 4.5.3 Market entry as young adults 113 4.5.4 Unforeseen drop in earnings 114 4.5.5 Overcoming liquidity-constraints: Summary and discussion 115 4.6 Promoting consumption and amplifying custom 116 4.7 The benefits from the network’s perspective 119 4.7.1 Function and growth 119 4 4.7.2 Removing the need for external agencies 121 4.8 Trust: ‘Individualised’ or ‘mediated’ 121 4.8.1 Individualised trust 122 4.8.2 Mediated trust 123 4.9 Enforcing debt in a black credit system 125 4.9.1 Regulating the dealers 128 4.9.2 Vignette 1 – A creditor’s frustration 132 4.9.3 Vignette 2 – Violence, to what end? 135 4.9.4 Regulating users 138 4.9.5 Limited debts, limited repercussions 139 4.9.6 Rolling tabs: How ‘good customers’ pose the greatest risks 142 4.9.7 Enforcing debts: Summary 145 4.10 Conclusion: Widespread, effective but under-researched 146 Chapter 5. Men at Work (part one): Dealing as Work 149 5.1 Introduction 149 5.2 Literature Review 152 5.2.1 Labour conditions and crime 153 5.2.2 Work programme evaluations 155 5.2.3 “Good” and “bad” jobs 157 5.2.4 Age appropriate quality of work 162 5.2.5 Drug dealers and un/employment 163 5.2.6 Literature Summary 165 5.3 Economic motivation for market entry and re-entry: Drug markets 165 as an alternative to the legitimate economy 5.4 Case Study 1 – Bear 168 5.4.1 Pocket money at university (1st to 5th quarter) 169 5.4.2 Drug dealing as a financial safety net (6th – 17th financial quarter) 172 5.5 Case study 2 – Sol 175 5.5.1 The pleasures of pocket money: ‘“Money can’t buy you happiness” 176 is fuckin’ bollocks’ 5.5.2 Drug money as investment capital 178 5.6 Network-wide trends? 182 5.6.1 Motivation 1: Consumerism, hedonism and a better quality of life 182 5.6.2 Motivation 2: A financial safety net 187 5.6.3 Motivation 3: Investment Capital 190 5.6.4 Summary 193 5 5.7 Drug dealing as work 194 5.7.1 Pay 196 5.7.2 Autonomy 197 5.7.3 Status 200 5.7.4 Satisfaction 205 5.7.5 Security 207 5.7.6 Career-commitment 208 5.7.7 Irritations 209 5.7.8 Summary: Drug dealing – ‘good’ or ‘bad’ work? 212 5.8 Men at Work (part one): Dealing as Work Summary 212 5.9 Men at Work (part two): The happiness of pursuit 215 5.10 The pursuit of ‘good work’ 216 5.10.1 Accruing the capital 217 5.10.2 Ages 16-18 217 5.10.3 Ages 18-22 219 5.10.4 Ages 23-27 219 5.11 Merits of ‘good work’ 221 5.11.1 Pay 224 5.11.2 Autonomy 225 5.11.3 Status 227 5.11.4 Satisfaction 229 5.11.5 Security 231 5.11.6 Career-commitment 232 5.11.7 Irritations 233 5.12 Men at Work: Summary and Discussion 234 5.12.1 Economic and rational motivations 235 5.12.2 Routine activity and opportunity 238 5.12.3 Age graded 239 5.13 Men at Work: Chapter Conclusion 241 Chapter 6. Conclusion: Drug dealing: Assured income during uncertain times 247 6.1 What have we learned about the illegal drug trade and 247 what are the possible implications? 6.1.1 The unusual suspects 247 6.1.2 The trade next door 250 6.1.3 Safety in closed-markets 250 6.1.4 Liquidity-constraints 251 6 6.1.5 Aging out of the drug markets 251 6.2 What have we learned about the motivations of drug dealers 252 and what are the implications? 6.2.1 Social identity, disidentification and respect 252 6.2.2 Economic necessity 253 6.2.3 Greater income, greater freedoms 253 6.3 Final thoughts 254 Bibliography 256 List of Tables Page Table 1: Data Collection 29 Table 2: An overview of individual characteristics 52 Table 3: Offender work programmes in the UK and US 155 Table 4: Evaluating The Lads jobs using the PASSSCI criteria 223 Graph 1: Bear’s quarterly average earnings 168 Graph 2: Sol’s quarterly average earnings 175 Chart 1: The prevalence of black credit within a single week’s selling cycle 110 Figure 1: Number of PASSCI criteria met: Perceived job quality 222 Word Count – 87,120 7 Abstract The University of Manchester, Michael Antonio Salinas Edwards, Doctor of Philosophy Men at Work: An Ethnography of Drug Markets and Youth Transitions in Times of Austerity Based on six-years ethnographic research, this thesis provides an in-depth account of a contemporary British drug market. The study follows a group of twenty-five friends, termed The Lads, during their transition from late-adolescence (16-22) through to early adulthood (22-28). This was a critical stage in their life course; it was a time when many had begun advancing into the world of work and business entrepreneurship, in search of their chosen career.