Lecture 2 : Introduction: Urban Criminal Collaborations

Question 1

2.1.Introduction: Urban Criminal Collaborations

Question 2

What concepts are used to interpret criminal collaboration in urban contexts?

Answer 2

Terms like ‘gang’, ‘mob’, ‘firm’, ‘organization’, ‘OCG’ interpret joint-enterprise crime.

Emphasis on urban context highlights threat from urban working class.

Question 3

Why are certain criminal collaborations regarded as ‘urban’ according to Fraser and Hobbs (2017)?

Answer 3

They are considered ‘urban’ because of a deeper fear among authorities about threats from the urban working class to social order, reflecting historical fears about this social class’s dangers.

Question 4

How has the focus on crime control in cities historically been characterized?

Answer 4

Crime control in cities has often focused on ‘policing the working class city’, whereas fraud and white-collar crime, though often collaborative, have not been central to urban crime control efforts.

Question 5

2.2. Youthful Urban Criminal Collaborations

Question 6

What is the historical fearful preoccupation in urban governance?

Answer 6

Fearful preoccupation, in the history of urban governance, with the threats posed by groups of young working-class males, especially from minority ethnic backgrounds.

Question 7

What was a historical fear related to young working-class males in urban societies?

Answer 7

Concerns about young working-class males in urban societies.

Question 8

How did the Chicago School shift the approach to studying crime?

Answer 8

Shifted from moralizing views to objective social science.

Question 9

What is a criticism of the Chicago School’s approach to crime?

Answer 9

Lack of focus on political and economic influences on crime by powerful actors.

Question 10

Why do gangs form according to Thrasher’s study?

Answer 10

High population density and limited resources lead youths to defend their territories.

Question 11

What can casual street interactions develop into?

Answer 11

Organized gangs.

Question 12

What do solidified gangs lead to?

Answer 12

Planned crimes, organized crime, and political manipulation.

Question 13

What is the Americanization Thesis debate about?

Answer 13

Debate on American influence on UK street gangs, driven by the lack of welfare state intervention.

Question 14

What did Robert Merton introduce to explain deviant behavior in response to blocked opportunities?

Answer 14

Robert Merton introduced ‘strain theory,’ with adaptations like ‘innovation,’ where individuals pursue deviant routes to success due to blocked legitimate opportunities.

Question 15

How did Albert K. Cohen explain the formation of subcultures among working-class males?

Answer 15

form subcultures due to ‘status frustration’ from being alienated by middle-class school values, leading to alternative values and deviant behavior.

Question 16

What does John Pitts’ analysis reveal about crime in British cities?

Answer 16

Despite a decline in overall crime, certain areas in British cities have become more dangerous for children and young people due to violent youth gangs.

Question 17

What are ‘Reluctant Gangsters’ and what factors push them into gangs?

Answer 17

Working-class males are ‘pushed’ into gangs due to blocked opportunities for legitimate advancement and ‘pulled’ by alternative illegitimate opportunities in disadvantaged neighborhoods.

Question 18

What key insights can be gained from the case study of London regarding urban criminal collaborations?

Answer 18

London is characterized by the chaotic violence of street worlds and the ‘on road’ subculture.

Question 19

What does the case study of Manchester reveal about the emergence of gangs?

Answer 19

In Manchester, the emergence of formalized gangs and the self-fulfilling prophecies of state labelling are significant factors.

Question 20

How does Glasgow’s history contribute to its urban criminal collaborations?

Answer 20

Glasgow’s criminal collaborations are influenced by legend, folklore, and sectarianism.

Question 21

According to Fraser and Hobbs (2023), what estimated proportion of all criminal offences in the UK and us are committed groups

Answer 21

One half

Question 22

For Fraser and Hobbs (2023), urban criminal collaborations reflect

Answer 22

Official concern over the threat to social order posed by groups of working class males

Question 23

According to Thrashers (1927) foundational text on the youths gang of Chicago, street gangs are formed because of

Answer 23

Conflict amongst youths struggling for territorial dominance of the poor neighbourhoods in which they live and socialise

Question 24

According to pitts (2008), in recent times there has been greater convergence in gang formation and criminality in the UL and US because

Answer 24

Life in the US and UK cities have become more alike given de-industrialisation, growing social inequality and the growth of illicit drug markets

Question 25

2.3. Adult Urban Criminal Collaborations

Question 26

What concept did Thrasher’s work in the 1920s Chicago contribute to criminology?

Answer 26

Thrasher’s work contributed the concept of the gang and transitions from youthful to adult criminal collaborations.

Question 27

What is ‘phantom capitalism’ in the context of crime groups?

Answer 27

Crime groups engaged in long-firm frauds, setting up legitimate-appearing businesses to build trust and then disappearing after a large order without paying, enabled by the historical context of increased household disposable income and lax commercial finance regulation.

Question 28

What is the concept of the ‘underworld’ as described by Fraser and Hobbs (2017)?

Answer 28

It is a realm of adult criminal collaboration enabled by legitimate commerce (‘upperworld’), which restructures due to deindustrialization, creating new criminal opportunities while making older ones less viable.

Question 29

How has deindustrialization impacted traditional crime opportunities?

Answer 29

Traditional opportunities for crimes like armed robbery decrease due to shifts to digital financial communications, while new opportunities arise in digital crime, such as hacking and phishing.

Question 30

What does the enduring focus on terms like ‘the mob’ and ‘the gang’ in criminology highlight?

Answer 30

It highlights a failure to recognize the changing conditions of crime, influenced by powerful groups and officialdom.

Question 31

What are Stan Cohen’s three orders of reality in criminology?

Answer 31

The thing itself (crime and security apparatus).

Speculations about this thing (competing normative and conceptual standpoints).

Reflections on the entire enterprise (relationship between speculations and the reality of crime).

Question 32

How do Fraser and Hobbs criticize traditional categories in criminology?

Answer 32

They criticize rigid categories like ‘the gang’ and ‘the mob’ in favor of ‘urban criminal collaborations’ to better conceptualize crime in post-industrial cities.

Question 33

What is Hallsworth and Young’s view on ‘the gang’?

Answer 33

The real issue is ‘the street’ and the privation and predation found in urban street life, using Deleuze’s analogy to emphasize the contingent nature of street life over abstract empirical measurements.

Question 34

How has Thrasher’s (1927) work on youth gangs been used to explain adult criminal collaborations in the city?

Answer 34

Violent territorial disputes amongst youth gangs in poor neighbourhoods provide the training ground and supply of labour for adult crime groups

Question 35

What, according to Fraser and Hobbs (2023), explains the demise of the underworld’ of adult criminal collaborations?

Answer 35

The emergence of post-industrial employment opportunities in narcotics and the night-time economy