1. Youth, Crime and Media MEP208 8. Drugs, gangs, deviance and labelling theory

2. Questions to consider Is there a causal relationship between youth, crime and drug use? How do age and gender characteristics affect trends in criminal/drug offences? How is a ‘drug user’ defined by other drug users (as belonging) and by non- drug users (as deviant)? Is there a typical drug offender?

3. Youth and drugs are linked Rare in early teens, increases sharply in mid teens, peaks in late teens or early twenties (ISDD 1994) Cannabis most popular – amphetamines, ecstasy and polydrug use has increased (Parker et al. 1998) Some stabilising of drug use but increased cocaine use since mid-90s (Ramsey 2001) Focus on vulnerable groups (Collison 1994)

4. Gender, drugs & other offences Peak offending for MALES – 14 for property offences, 16 for violent offences, 17 for serious offences and 20 for drug offences (Graham and Bowling 1995) Peak offending for FEMALES – 15 for property and serious offences, 16 for violent offences, 17 for drug offences (ibid) Male drug offenders persist into 20s, 30s…

5. But does drug use cause youth crime? (Muncie 2004)  Most drug use is ‘recreational’ and relatively controlled  Most of those who commit crime to buy drugs were criminals before drug-taking  Less than 5% finance their drug use through crime  Police crackdowns fail to reduce drug availability or levels of criminal activity

6. Becoming a drug user (Becker 1953) 50 interviews with marijuana users Focus away from psychological or pathological to social pleasures Pleasure only came after a “learning process” – newcomers need to be taught how to appreciate a ‘high’ from experienced members of the gang

7. Labels and careers Jazz musicians as deviant – marijuana users, creative types, etc. Synonyms for marijuana “change as soon as musicians feel that they have gained currency among outsiders” (Becker 1997) Musicians label outsiders as ‘square’ To be called ‘hip’ requires experience and understanding – a career attitude

8. Three types of youth drug takers (Young 1971) CONFORMIST – future productive roles: alcohol, tobacco – “these drugs come to symbolise for conformist youth the achievement of adult status” (p.144) DELINQUENT – minority group – no future productive career roles: much illegal drug use but not readily available BOHEMIAN – associated with hippies…

9. Bohemian youth (Young 1971) They choose to disassociate with the conformist work ethic Drug use is available and sought after Middle class, well-educated “Society reacts, then, not to the use of drugs but to the type of people who use drugs” (p. 149).