Contesting County Lines
Case Studies in Drug Crime and Deviant Entrepreneurship
By James Densley, Robert McLean and Carlton Brick
Published
Jan 17, 2023Page count
134 pagesISBN
978-1529232066Dimensions
203 x 127 mmImprint
Bristol University PressPublished
Jan 17, 2023Page count
134 pagesISBN
978-1529232097Dimensions
203 x 127 mmImprint
Bristol University PressPublished
Jan 17, 2023Page count
134 pagesISBN
978-1529232097Dimensions
203 x 127 mmImprint
Bristol University Press
Contesting County Lines
Combining a compulsive read with rigorous academic analysis, this book tells the real-life stories of drug dealers involved in county lines networks, including their methods, motives and misfortunes. Conventional wisdom surrounding county lines often portrays drugs runners as exploited victims and gang proliferation as a market-driven exercise, and suggests a business model facilitated exclusively by smart phone technology and routinely regulated by violence.
Aimed at students, scholars, practitioners and policymakers, this myth-busting, accessible book offers a novel way of thinking about county lines in relation to gangs and serious organised crime and presents new ideas for drug crime prevention, intervention and enforcement.
"This book challenges traditional explanations that people drawn into county lines are inadequate. The life stories are raw, violent, challenging and totally engrossing. Ethnographic research at its best. Highly recommended." Anthony Goodman, Middlesex University
"The unregulated market through which illicit drugs are sold is notoriously associated with negative societal impacts. The rarely heard story this book tells is of the entrepreneurial endeavours of those involved." Paul Andell, University of Suffolk
"Through meticulous scholarship and novel perspectives, this book enlightens readers with an essential understanding of county lines and all that it entails. The authors have produced an academic page turner." Mohammed Rahman, Birmingham City University
James A. Densley is Department Chair of the School of Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice, Metro State University
Robert McLean is Lecturer at the School of Education and Social Sciences, University of the West of Scotland.
Carlton Brick is Lecturer at the School of Education and Social Sciences, University of the West of Scotland.
1. County Lines and the ‘Standard Story’: An Introduction
2. Whose Line Is It Anyway?
3. Joining the Line
4. Life on the Line
5. Crossing the Line
6. End of the Line
7. County Lines in a Therapy Culture: A Conclusion
