Policing County Lines: Responses To Evolving Provincial Drug Markets

by Jack Spicer

Overview

The County Lines phenomenon has become one of the most significant drug market developments in the UK over recent years. This book analyses how it is being responded to by the police in affected provincial areas. Drawing on unique ethnographic fieldwork, it takes readers into police stations and out onto the streets with officers, providing timely insight into the policing of this high profile and challenging drug market context. The book considers the use of new police tactics that have been proposed and familiar methods that officers regularly embarked on. Through a sophisticated theoretical framework it argues that the policing of County Lines can often be considered ‘symbolic’, with concerns regularly placed on sending out strong messages that appear superficial when closely examined. Alongside this, however, there appears to be a progressive shift towards a more pragmatic drugs policing approach that embraces harm reduction principles.This cutting-edge research speaks to academics in Criminology and Policing, and to practitioners and policy makers.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9783030541958
Publisher:	Springer International Publishing
Publication date:	11/13/2021
Series:	Palgrave Studies in Risk, Crime and Society
Edition description:	1st ed. 2021
Pages:	253
Product dimensions:	5.83(w) x 8.27(h) x 0.00(d)

About the Author

Jack Spicer is Lecturer in Criminology at UWE, Bristol, UK. His research interests include the functioning of illicit drug markets, drug law enforcement and drug policy. In 2019 he was awarded “Best Early Career Researcher” by the International Society for the Study of Drug Policy.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction.- 2. County Lines.- 3. Policing Drug Markets.- 4. Navigating A ‘Newsy’ Field.- 5. Policing A Crisis?.- 6. New Tactics.- 7. More Of The Same?.- 8. Drug Market Priorities.- 9. Conclusion.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“Policing County Lines is a tour de force for understanding the intricacies of this evolving phenomenon and provides the reader with admirable insight into its origins, the fuller context in which it operates and the ways forward for future policing approaches and wider management partnerships. A must read for anyone wanting to understand complexity around policing in the current age” (Ross Coomber, Professor of Criminology and Sociology, University of Liverpool, UK)

“Jack Spicer makes an original and valuable contribution to the growing literature on county lines drug dealing in particular and, more generally, the literature on drug markets, drug policy, organised crime, policing and criminology. Spicer subjects an impressive 14 months of ethnographic fieldwork to well-balanced and rigorous analysis. The book offers valuable insights into how the county lines drug supply model operates, and is understood by law enforcement, while exploring how a harm reduction framework can limit drug market harms. This impressive book is essential reading for anyone interested in drug markets, drug policy, policing, organised crime and gangs” (James Windle, Lecturer of Criminology, University College Cork, Ireland)

“Jack Spicer’s book is a thoroughly engaging, enlightening and enjoyable read that makes an original and important contribution to the literature on policing, drug markets and drug policy, as well as criminology and criminal justice more generally. It is beautifully written, deserves a wide readership and will be of interest to academics, policymakers and practitioners working in these areas. If you only read one book on County Lines, make it this one” (Matthew Bacon, Lecturer of Criminology, University of Sheffield, UK)

Editorial Reviews

Bringing a wealth of detail and clarity to the study of this topic, Spicer invites the reader … . Spicer cultivates a rich insight into his own experiences of the ethnographic process, valuable to both those embarking on early experiences of fieldwork and those seeking to contextualize the book’s substantive insights. … Overall, the book makes a valuable contribution to the literature on county lines and policing. Spicer invites us to examine … with a pragmatic, critical eye.” (Hannah Marshall, The British Journal of Criminology, Vol. 62 (2), 2022)

From the Publisher