NCJ Number
163360
Journal
Justice Quarterly Volume: 13 Issue: 3 Dated: (September 1996) Pages: 359-381
Date Published
1996
Length
23 pages
Annotation
This paper explores techniques by crack dealers to defy detection, hide their illicit activities, and avoid apprehension.
Abstract
The techniques are described in terms of a three-part typology that involves environmental positioning, stashing, and transactional mediation, and they are integrated with the concept of restrictive deterrence. Virtually all empirical research based on the deterrence perspective has an implied passivity regarding the offender, i.e., evasion of sanctions is implicitly a function of the criminal justice system's relative ineptness and ineffectiveness in bringing offenders to justice. When peers and acquaintances also go unpunished for crimes, this vicarious experience reinforces the general opinion that individuals can engage in additional crimes without suffering repercussions. In an effective criminal justice system, being caught and punished personally and watching others receive the same fate should engender respect and fear of that system's powers and should result in less frequent criminal behavior. Restrictive deterrence pertains to actual contact with perceived social control agents and processes by which offenders filter or neutralize these agents before committing offenses. Restrictive deterrence also refers to measures taken by offenders to reduce the likelihood of apprehension. Data drawn from semistructured interviews with 40 street-level crack dealers operating in a medium-sized, midwestern metropolitan area are used to illustrate techniques used to defy detection, obscure illicit activities, and avoid apprehension. 57 references, 17 footnotes, and 1 figure