Advertisement

Illicit Drug Markets Today

  • Robert McLean
  • Grace Robinson
  • James A. Densley
Chapter
First Online:
  • 146 Downloads
Part of the SpringerBriefs in Criminology book series (BRIEFSCRIMINOL)

Abstract

Part I of the book introduced the reader to the role of gangs and organised crime groups (OCG) in IDM, and more specifically the rise of the County Lines phenomenon. Thus far, the information provided was largely filtered through the lens of ‘official’ channels, i.e., the political establishment, law enforcement, and to a lesser extent the media. When combined with some past academic scholarship, a certain perception begins to emerge in the construct of the mind. This perception tends to hold certain views, such as: the IDM being a somewhat unified phenomena; that the IDM is run by sophisticated OCGs; that OCGs are violent, hierarchical outfits with set boundaries, alliances, and goals. Part II of the book looks to provide a counterbalance to the ‘official’ view by drawing upon the sample group involved in Britain’s IDM and County Lines activity. Part II consists of three chapters. These chapters are overarching themes which present the voices of the participants interviewed. These themes are ‘Illicit Drug Markets Today’, ‘Working County Lines’, and ‘Negotiating the Victim/Offender Nexus’.

Keywords

Drug supply and demand Evolving drug markets Professionalization of drug dealers IDM 
This is a preview of subscription content, log in to check access.

References

  1. Antonopoulos, G. A., & Papanicolaou, G. (2010). Asterix and Obelix in drugland: An introduction to the special issue on ‘drug markets. Trends in Organized Crime, 13, 1–12.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  2. Boyle, J. (1977). A sense of freedom. London: Pan Books.Google Scholar
  3. Coomber, R. (2006). Pusher myths: Re-situating the drug dealer. London: Free Association Books.Google Scholar
  4. Coomber, R. (2015). A tale of two cities: Understanding differences in levels of heroin/crack market-related violence—a two city comparison. Criminal Justice Review, 40, 7–31.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  5. Daily Record. (2019). ‘Glasgow gangster Steven ‘Bonzo’ Daniel’s £270,000 house up for sale’. 23rd May 2019.Google Scholar
  6. Densley, J. (2014). It’s gang life, but not as we know it: The evolution of gang business. Crime and Delinquency, 60, 517–546.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  7. Densley, J. A., McLean, R., Deuchar, R., & Harding, S. (2018). An altered state? Emergent changes to illicit drug markets and distribution networks in Scotland. International Journal of Drug Policy, 58, 113–120.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  8. Ferris, P. (2005). Vendetta: Turning your back on crime can be deadly. Edinburgh: Black and White Publishing.Google Scholar
  9. Ferris, P., & Mckay, R. (2001). The ferris conspiracy. Edinburgh: Mainstream.Google Scholar
  10. Ferris, P., & McKay, R. (2010). Villains: It takes one to know one. Edinburgh: Black and White Publishing.Google Scholar
  11. Findlay, R. (2012). Caught in the crossfire: Scotland’s deadliest drugs war. Edinburgh: Barlinn Limited.Google Scholar
  12. Fraser, A. (2015). Urban legends. Oxford: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  13. Hales, G., & Hobbs, D. (2010). Drug markets in the community: A London borough case study. Trends in Organized Crime, 13, 13–30.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  14. Hobbs, D., & Antonopoulos, G. A. (2013). ‘Endemic to the species’: Ordering the ‘other’ via organised crime. Global Crime, 14(1), 27–51.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  15. Matrix Knowledge Group. (2007). The illicit drug trade in the United Kingdom. London: Home Office.Google Scholar
  16. McKay, R. (2017). Notorious Glasgow gangsters part 6: Glasgow’s gangsters, Stewart Specky Boyd and FCB. Glasgow Live. Available at: https://www.glasgowlive.co.uk/news/glasgow-news/glasgows-gangsters-stewart-specky-boyd-11346014
  17. McLean, R. (2018). An evolving gang model in contemporary Scotland. Deviant Behavior, 39, 309–321.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  18. McLean, R. (2019). Gangs, drugs and (dis)organised crime. Bristol: Bristol University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  19. McLean, R., & Densley, J. (2019). The glasgow gang revisited: A modern history of drugs, guns, knives and illegal governance. London: Palgrave Macmillan.Google Scholar
  20. McLean, R., Deuchar, R., Harding, S., & Densley, J. (2018). Putting the “street” in gang: Place and space in the organisation of Scotland’s drug selling gangs’. British Journal of Criminology, 59, 396–415.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  21. McPhee, I. (2013). The intentionally unseen: Illicit & illegal drug use in Scotland. Saarbrucken: Lambert Academic Publishing.Google Scholar
  22. McPhee, I., Duffy, T., & Martin, C. R. (2009). The perspectives of drug users within the social context of drug prohibition. Drugs Alcohol Today, 9(2), 19–23.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  23. McPhee, I., Holligan, C., McLean, R., & Deuchar, R. (2019). Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde: The strange case of the two selves of clandestine drug users. Alcohol & Drug Studies Today, 19(2), 133–146.  https://doi.org/10.1108/DAT-07-2018-0035.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  24. McSweeney, T., Turnbull, P. J., & Hough, M. (2008). Tackling drug markets and distribution networks in the UK. London: KCL.Google Scholar
  25. Miller, J. (2015). In every scheme there is a team: A grounded theory of how young people grow in and out of gangs in glasgow (Unpublished M.Ed thesis). University West of Scotland.Google Scholar
  26. National Crime Agency. (2017). County lines violence, exploitation & drug supply 2017. National briefing report. London: National Crime Agency.Google Scholar
  27. O’Mahoney, B., & Ellis, S. (2009). Essex boy: Last man standing. Edinburgh: Mainstream Publishing.Google Scholar
  28. Parker, H. (2000). How young Britons obtain their drugs: Drugs transactions at the point of consumption. In M. Hough & M. Natarajan (Eds.), Illegal drug markets: From research to prevention policy. New York: Criminal Justice Press.Google Scholar
  29. Pitts, J. (2008). Reluctant gangsters: The changing face of youth crime. Cullompton: Willan.Google Scholar
  30. Reuter, P. (1983a). Disorganized crime: Illegal markets and the mafia. Cambridge: MIT Press.Google Scholar
  31. Reuter, P. (1983b). Disorganized crime: The economics of the visible hand. Cambridge: MIT Press.Google Scholar
  32. Robinson, G., McLean, R., & Densley, J. (2019). Working county lines: Child criminal exploitation and illicit drug dealing in Glasgow and Merseyside. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 63, 694–711.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  33. Stevenson, C. (2008). Cannabis supply in Northern Ireland: Perspectives from users. In D. Korf (Ed.), Cannabis in Europe (pp. 124–136). Lengerich: Pabst.Google Scholar
  34. Taylor, M., & Potter, G. (2013). From ‘social supply’ to ‘real dealing’: Drift, friendship, and trust in drug dealing careers. Journal of Drug Issues, 43, 392–406.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  35. United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. (2016). World drug report. Vienna: Author.Google Scholar
  36. Von Lampe, K. (2016). Organized crime. Thousand Oaks: Sage.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  37. Whittaker, A., Densley, J., Cheston, L., Tyrell, T., Higgins, M., Felix-Baptiste, C., & Havard, T. (2019). Reluctant gangsters revisited: The evolution of gangs from postcodes to profits. European Journal on Criminal Policy and Research, 1–22.  https://doi.org/10.1007/s10610-019-09408-4.
  38. Windle, J., & Briggs, D. (2015). ‘It’s like working away for two weeks’: The harms associated with young drug dealers commuting from a saturated London drug market. Crime Prevention and Community Safety, 17, 105–119.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  39. Woodwiss, M., & Telford, C. (2015). Organized crime and corruption control in Britain: An interview with Alan Wright. Trends in Organized Crime, 18, 107–117.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

Copyright information

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020

Authors and Affiliations

  • Robert McLean
    • 1
  • Grace Robinson
    • 2
  • James A. Densley
    • 3
  1. 1.Northumbria UniversityNewcastleUK
  2. 2.CriminologyBlackpool and the Fylde CollegeLancashireUK
  3. 3.Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Education CenterMetropolitan State UniversityBrooklyn ParkUSA

Personalised recommendations

Cite chapter

Buy options