Scotland’s Drug Criminality: Organized Crime Group (S) and Illegal Governance

ABSTRACT

Organized crime has been on the rise during the past decade. During that time, Scotland was home to more youth gangs than London, with Glasgow alone providing a base for around 170 youth gangs. However, more recent trends highlight a shift toward more organized criminal activity (OCA). The majority of Organized Criminal Gangs (OCGs) are involved in the illegal drugs trade, as well as fraudulent businesses and other such activities in an effort to legitimize or conceal illegal financial capital from rivals and police. This process has resulted in a steady decline of generalized violence. Although, there has been a simultaneous increase in high profile incidents, such as shootings and gangland assassinations. Drawing upon data gathered in the field, the authors support this view and argue that, while a number of factors effect divergent trends, illegal governance undoubtedly is present in criminogenic space which in turn impacts upon gang organization and behavior. OCGs look to impose control over physical territory via occasional incidents in order to outwardly project psychological fear which ensures maximum control over the populations.

Notes

¹ Note that it is more common for YCGs to disband or dissolve for numerous reasons.

² Although note, more often than not though, illegal governance overlapped into both spheres on occasions.

³ Limited refers to the ability to retaliate. Individuals with no ability to do so can be classified as those with no criminal capital, those with limited ability can be deemed as those who have criminal reputations but little connections to those in the higher echelons of criminal activity, nor have access to any great deal of weaponry, arsenal, or resources to inflict revenge or retaliation.

⁴ The humiliating act of sharply pulling a victim’s underwear up over his trousers while they are still is wearing them.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Chris Holligan

Chris Holligan is a professor within the Interdisciplinary Research Unit on Crime, Policing and Social Justice within the University of the West of Scotland. His recent research has been on the criminal mug shot and stigmatization; the lives of convicts in Peterhead’s Convict Prison and their letters to family; the violent code of the street in Scotland; and gang offending.

Robert McLean

Robert McLean is a lecturer at the University of the West of Scotland and teaches on the criminal justice and policing programme. His recent work includes research on organized crime, drug supply, county lines drug dealing, and gang offending.

Gareth Rice

Gareth Rice teaches on the Social Sciences programme. His background is in Human Geography and qualitative research methods. He is also has an interest in the roles which state and non-state actors play in Northern Ireland’s peace process.