Managing Retaliation: Drug Robbery and Informal Sanction Threats*

Abstract

The notion that informal sanction threats inpuence criminal decision-making is perhaps the most important contribution to neoclassical theory in the past 15 years. Notably absent from this contribution is an examination of the ways in which the risk of victim retaliation-arguably, the ultimate informal sanction-mediates the process. The present article addresses this gap, examining how active drug robbers (individuals who take money and drugs from dealers by force or threat of force) perceive and respond to the risk of victim retaliation in real-life settings and circumstances. The data's theoretical implications for deterrence and violence contagions are explored. Data were drawn from in-depth interviews with 25 currently active drug robbers recruited from the streets of St. Louis, Missouri.

"Might Not Be a Tomorrow": A Multi-Methods Approach to Anticipated Early Death and Youth Crime

“…At the same time, criminological research has highlighted the existence of hard-core offenders who appear to be fearless in the face of these dangers (Anderson, 1994(Anderson, , 1999Hoffman, 2004;Jacobs et al, 2000;McCarthy and Hagan, 2005;Topalli, 2005a). This population includes individuals who have experienced stabbings, shootings, or other lifethreatening injuries and yet remain undeterred from a risky and criminal lifestyle (Hoffman, 2004).…”

“…These risks also include immediate physical dangers-such as injury, paralysis, or death-that exist in the "foreground" of the criminal lifestyle and that may result from crime victim retaliation, attacks by rival offenders, or police action (Dobrin, 2001;Hoffman, 2004;Jacobs, Topalli, and Wright, 2000;McCarthy and Hagan, 2005;Sampson and Lauritsen, 2005;Topalli, Wright, and Fornango, 2002;Tremblay and Paré, 2003).…”

“…Although CWA has a core group of residents invested in the safety and improvement of their neighborhoods, most areas within its bounds are dominated by violence, decay, and a lack of city services, and do not represent "neighborhood communities" in the conventional middle-class sense (see Inciardi, Horowitz, and Pottieger, 1993 (Cromwell and Olson, 2004; Cromwell, Olson and Avary, 1991; Piquero and Rengert, 1999;Wright and Decker, 1994), robbery and theft (Miller, 1998;Shover and Henderson, 1995;Wright and Decker, 1997), prostitution (e.g., Maher, 1997;Phoenix, 2000), carjacking Topalli and Wright, 2004), drug dealing and drug robbery (Bourgois, 1995;Geter, 1994;Hagedorn, 1994;Jacobs, 1999Jacobs, , 2000Jacobs, , 2006Jacobs et al, 2000;Topalli et al, 2002), crime among homeless youth (e.g., Inciardi, et al, 1993;Tyler and Johnson, 2004), gangs (e.g., Miller, 2001) and street snitching (Rosenfeld, Jacobs, and Wright, 2003).…”

“…Such offenders spend as much as they have, as quickly as possible. The constant need for cash, drugs, and alcohol to "keep the party going"-combined with careless spending habits-leads offenders to participate in serious crime to bankroll their impulsive lifestyles (Katz, 1988;Jacobs, 2000;Jacobs et al, 2003Jacobs et al, , 2000Shover, 1996;Shover and Honaker, 1992;Topalli et al, 2002;Decker, 1997, 1994).…”

“…This approach allowed participants to respond freely and to introduce their own concepts and categories, providing us with a more comprehensive and rich set of data to explore. This approach has been used successfully in many previous ethnographic studies of active offenders (e.g., Jacobs et al, 2000;Jacobs and Wright, 1999;Topalli, 2005a; Topalli and 22 Wright, 2004; Decker, 1994, 1997). Interviews focused on the participants' perceptions of risk-with particular emphasis on the risk of future injury or early death-and the extent to which these perceptions influenced their attitudes and behaviors related to offending.…”