Policing Minority Street Corner Gangs in Singapore: A View from the Street

Abstract

This article examines the evolution and manifestation of the Social Disciplinary model of policing in Singapore, a model which eschews concern for both legal and factual guilt, concentrating instead on the task of subjugating sections of society who are viewed as 'anti-police'. We argue that understanding the experiences of minority gang members as recipients of such policing has to be set in the context of the symbiotic relationship that exists between the police and institutionalized secret societies, which has been responsible for the reproduction of social order in the criminal underworld. Street corner gangs comprising lower class ethnic minority Indians are considered by the police as a 'problem population' because of their potential to upset the symbiotic relationship. A consequence of this form of policing is that minority gangs occupy a marginal status in the illegitimate society and exhibit characteristics akin to a 'retreatist' gang.

Keywords:

• Policing
• Minority Gangs
• Secret Societies
• Social Order
• Illegitimate Society
• Singapore