This book draws on a four-year ethnographic study conducted in the prisons and on the streets of Greater Manchester, England, to examine gangs and organised crime in the North of England. It includes the personal testimonies of active prison gang members and major organised crime figures, many of whom are behind bars, and some active street gang members. It presents an holistic account by exploring the linkages that exist between prisons and the streets, including the lines of continuity between gangs on both sides of the prison walls and how gang affiliation straddles this divide. It offers data on the region’s drug market (specifically Class A drugs) as this market is the lynchpin of the underworld, both within and without prison. It also includes the perspectives and insights of prison officers, police detectives, youth workers, active and former street gang members and the parents of deceased gang members. This is a ground-breaking, contemporary study, analysing English gang compositions and activities, with its findings and results based on qualitative interviews and ethnographic research.
Author(s): Dev Rup Maitra
Series: Palgrave Studies in Risk, Crime and Society
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
Year: 2023
Language: English
Pages: 305
City: London
Preface
Acknowledgements
Contents
Abbreviations
List of Figures
1 Introduction
Research Aims and Objectives
Chapter Outlines
Justification for the Study
Methodological Overview
Limitations
References
2 Entering the English Prison Complex
Why Manchester?
Background to the Study
Sample
Sample Sites
Greater Manchester
HMP Manchester
HMP Forest Bank
‘Getting in, Getting on, Getting Out’
‘Getting In’
Getting in to HMP Manchester
Getting in to HMP Forest Bank
‘Getting On’
‘Do no Harm’—Ethics and Fieldwork
‘Getting on’ at HMP Manchester
‘Getting on’ at HMP Forest Bank
‘Getting Out’
Development of the Research Process Post-Prison
Ethics on the Streets
Questionnaires and Methods of Data Collection
Recording and Transcribing of Data
Data Analysis
Anonymity and Confidentiality
Personal Safety
References
3 The Internecine Conflict
The History of Greater Manchester
The History of Manchester’s Street Gangs
The Past—The Beginnings of Greater Manchester’s Street Gangs
The KS Gang
Blue Gang and Red Gang
‘Gunchester’
The History of Manchester’s Prison Gangs
The Academic Deficit
References
4 ‘Ganging’ in the Twenty-First Century
Defining ‘The Gang’
Prison Gangs
Organized Crime
The Functions of Gangs in the Community and in Prison
The Relationship Between Prison and the Wider Community
The Debate Around ‘Gang Talk’ and ‘Gang Talkers’
‘The Gang’ Re-Defined
‘Set up to Fail’—Labelled as Gang Members
Arriving at an Operationalizable Definition of Gangs
A Reconceptualization of Yablonsky’s (1962) Framework
The Spontaneous Gathering
The Contemporary Violent Gang
The Enterprise Gang
Beyond Yablonsky—The Drugs Gang
The Legacy of Blue and Red
The Area 2 Lads
Conclusion
References
5 Gangs Behind Bars
Introduction
Institutional Cultures and Practices
The State of Play at the Beginning of Fieldwork
Signalling in Prison: “Who Do You Chill with?”
Presentation of Self and the Perils of False Signalling
Violence Capital in Prison and Violence Capital on the Streets
The Limit Points of Gang Loyalties
The Dynamics of Contemporary Prison Life
Conclusion
References
6 Gangs and Race
Race on the Streets
Critical Race Theory (CRT)
Race Behind Bars
Reconciliation, and the Contemporary Situation
References
7 Conclusion
Final Thoughts
References
Bibliography
Index
