Reluctant Gangsters - London Borough of Hillingdon

Youngers or Soldiers also engage in a great deal of ‘anti-social
behaviour’, street crime attack and sexual assault in their own right.
Youngers and Wannabees (aged 12-15) carry weapons, drugs or
stolen property for the Elders, to ensure that if the Elders are
stopped and searched, they will be ‘clean’ and that no ‘forensic’ is
transferred by direct contact. They will also serve jail terms for
them (KI.07,26,27,28,42). Why? (see figure 4.3 below)
Fig. 4.3
So if crack dealing is the most dangerous job in America and if the salary is only
$3.30 an hour, why on earth would anyone take such a job? Well, for the same
reason that a pretty Wisconsin farm girl moves to Hollywood. For the same
reason a high-school quarterback wakes at 5 a.m. to lift weights. They all want
to succeed in an extremely competitive field in which, if you reach the top, you
are paid a fortune (to say nothing of the attendant glory and power).
Levitt & Dubner (2005) Why do Drug Dealers Still Live With Their Moms,
in Freakonomics, p.104)
Street-level Drug Markets
Shotters (aged 16-35) working for, or accredited and protected by,
gangs are believed to earn around £300-£500. per week
(KI.07,30,42), Shotters work in both ‘open’ and ‘closed’ drug
markets (May et al, 2004).
An open drug market is one where, characteristically, several
Shotters will sell drugs to anyone unless they are suspected of
being police officers or rival gang members. As the Waltham Forest
Crime and Disorder Audit 2004 map (Figure 4.4 below) indicates,
Lea Bridge Rd., Leyton and Leytonstone High Roads, and the areas
around Walthamstow Central and Leyton Midland stations are all
active open drug markets. They are busy thoroughfares adjacent to
some of the estates where the drug-dealing gangs are located. An
open market has the advantage for buyers that they can retain
anonymity and exercise choice between dealers (May, 2004).
On the other hand, buying from strangers lays the purchaser open
to ‘rip-offs’ and the possibility of robbery because, as the 2004
Audit notes, the open drug markets in Waltham Forest are also
robbery hotspots.
The advantage an open market for sellers is that it maximizes
customer access. However, it also renders them vulnerable to police
‘buy and bust’ tactics and this means that to make a living, Shotters
must be innovators. When policing intensified in Lea Bridge Road in
2005, for example, one inventive Shotter relocated to the rear of
the KFC Drive-Through where he supplied crack and heroin to
accompany his customer’s Colonel Sanders ‘Tasty Bites’ (KI.07).
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