Goldstein’s (1985) tripartite framework
theorised that drugs and violence are related in three ways/models:
psychopharmacological, economic compulsive, systemic
Context of Goldstein’s framework
Homicides in NY in the 1970s and 80s when there was a crack epidemic and high levels of violence
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Goldstein’s (1985) tripartite framework
theorised that drugs and violence are related in three ways/models:
psychopharmacological, economic compulsive, systemic
Context of Goldstein’s framework
Homicides in NY in the 1970s and 80s when there was a crack epidemic and high levels of violence
Psychopharmacological
Violence may be due to someone being excitable, irrational, or irritable due to physical effects of being intoxicated or in withdrawal
Substances involved with psychopharmacological
Alcohol, stimulants, barbiturates, and PCP
Opiates are unlikely to lead to violence but withdrawal may
Effect of drugs on being a victim of violence
links to the notion of victim-precipitation - victim playing a part in their own victimisation
Economic-compulsive
Drug users commit acquisitive crimes to gain money for drugs
Violence and acquisitive crimes
Non-violent crimes include burglary, shoplifting, pickpocketing, prostitution
Violence is not intended but can be the result if the offender is challenged - a by-product
Drugs associated with economic-compulsive
Heroin and cocaine - these are more expensive and associated with compulsive use according to Goldstein
Victims of economic-compulsive crimes
Tend to be those living in the same neighbourhood and they are often involved in illegal activities also
Systematic
Violence is intrinsic to involvement with illicit substances and drug distribution system
Examples of systematic violence
Disputes over territory between rival drug dealers
Assaults/homicides to enforce normative codes within hierarchies
Retaliation
Punishment for selling fake drugs or not paying debts
Disputes over drugs or drug paraphernalia
Robbery related to the social economy of ‘copping’ areas
Victims of systemic violence
Often contained to the drug system/environment - victim-offender overlap
Critiques of Goldstein
Mostly based on ethnographic data and media reports
Quantitative data are unavailable
Framework is based on assumptions which are not testable
No rigorous discussion of how the models interact
Not reflective of young drug users who are not involved in higher level distribution
Framework is under-developed
Too much attention given to the systemic model without reason
Bennett and Holloway (2009)
Wanted to test Goldstein’s theory by interviewing 41 prisoners in England on their use of drugs and committing crimes
Main finding of Bennett and Holloway (2009)
Found that the drug-crime relationship goes both ways
Brookman and Bennett (2018) - mephedrone
Reported just under half of survey respondents felt violent/acted violent after using
Windle and Briggs (2015) qualitative study of ‘Red Gang’
Gang members were motivated by economic gain and self-interest
In a loose social network of friends/peers who ran drugs in various informal ways
Did not see themselves in a formal hierarchy
Practitioners in Windle and Briggs (2015)
Did see a structure, hierarchy, and level of organisation in the gang - different perception to gang members
Gangs and violence
Type, frequency, severity, motivations of violence tend to vary between gangs
European gangs in over a dozen countries
Revealed a wide pattern of violent behaviour and levels of violence
Much greater than among non-gang youth but largely less serious than in the US
Difference between US and European gangs - Klein et al. (2006)
Recentness of European gang development, lower level of firearm availability, lower level of gang territoriality in Europe
Moeller and Hesse (2013) on Danish cannabis market (2004)
Found that police crackdown led to surge in homicides in following 5 years due to competition to become new distributors
County lines
Saturation in urban market means dealers are expanding rurally
Cuckooing in county lines
The dealer who has left the city needs somewhere to live in the rural location so sets up shop in someone else’s house - taking advantage of the vulnerable
Spicer (2020) - county lines have been prone to scapegoating and moral panic
Gang talk
Middle-class cocaine users
Late stage prohibition
Drugs in prison - two groups
Those who enter prisons already using drugs
Those who start drug use due to being in prison
Public health practicioners and academic seen prison as opportune time to …
deliver drug treatment as it is a period of enforced abstinence, in theory
Faze et al. (2006)
Disproportionate number of men and women entering prison have alcohol or drug dependencies compared to the general population
Women in prison are 2-4x more likely to be alcohol dependent and 12x more likely to be drug dependent
Crewe (2005) on drugs in prison
Ethnographic study in English prison focusing on heroin use in prisoners
Findings of Crewe (2005)
Many switched from cannabis to heroin as it was harder to detect
Dealers tend to not directly hold on to the drugs due to the risk
Heroin value is 3-4x higher in prison than on the streets
Crewe (2005) supply routes
Staff (often bribed), friends/family on visits, thrown over a fence, court visits
Crewe (2005) on violence
When drugs are plentiful, violence tends to erupt over competition between dealers
When drugs are scarce, violence tends to erupt over people being in debt, need to keep people in line, and retaliation
violence happens regardless of context
Removal of drugs from prison - Watson (2016)
Focus on staff and how they removed/prevented drugs in prisons
Staff believed that unless demand disappears drug-free prisons will never be achievable
Spice in prison
Unlike Crewe’s study this is now the most popular, changing the landcape
Ralphs et al. (2017) on spice in prison
Main reason for spice being most popular is because it is not yet detectable in mandatory drug testing measures
Spice can cause hallucinations and can help pass time
Grace et al. (2019) on spice
Many users of spice in prison stopped when released
Suggests spice is well-suited for prison life
Baskin and Sommers (2016) - substance use and IPV
Interpersonal relationships can lead to the emergence, maintenance, and desistance of substance use
They can also act as protective factors
Baskin and Sommers (2016) - four possible reasons for IPV
Psychopharmalogical
Economically motivated
Substance use exacerbates other problems, such as mental illness
Relationship is spurious or mediated by a third variable
Choenni et al. (2017) systematic review
Looked at those with clinical diagnosis of alcohol dependent - at a greater risk of committing physical assault and psychological aggression
Choenni et al. (2017) other variables playing a role
Gender, antisocial personality, PTSD, the relationship, unemployment, drug use, cultural/ethnic background
Choenni et al. (2017) four hypotheses
Cognitive distortions
Deviance disavowal - alcohol used as excuse for violence
Pharmacological - disinhibition caused by alcohol
Biopsychosocial
Biopsychosocial
combined influence of developmental, alcohol-related, individual and context factors
Stitt and Auyero (2018)
Looked at systemic violence and how those involved in drug distribution were bringing violence into the home as a by-product
Stitt and Auyero (2018) - three pathways of how drug market violence enters the home
Invasion
Protection
Pre-emption