Whilst gang-related violence has a long history that predates the advent of social media, recent research suggests that a growing proportion of this violence is closely linked to gang members' online activities. This chapter explores these links by providing a comprehensive review of literature on this issue to-date. Although research in this area is still in its infancy, we argue that there are clear indications that social media is acting as both a catalyst and trigger for gang-related violence in real life.

This article explores young people's involvement in illicit drug markets in England. It focuses in particular on why young people become involved in illicit drug distribution, the extent to which their involvement is predicated on adults' use of threats and violence, and how young people frame the morality of drug dealing. The article's findings are based on a unique dataset generated by a six-month period of online social media platform analysis, alongside additional data drawn from periods of observation, focus groups and interviews with young people and professionals. In short, I argue that drug prohibition, consumer capitalism, severe levels of inequality, and emerging problems associated with the rise of online social media are combining to produce a toxic trap that is dragging tens of thousands of young people into street-level drug dealing. Considered in this context, the inadequacy of the UK government's response to some of the main harms associated with illicit drug markets is clear: children and young people will continue to be coerced and exploited until either drug markets are legalized and regulated, or they have realistic opportunities to pursue lives that offer genuine meaning, decent levels of income, and levels of status and respect that are comparable to those provided by drug distribution.

No abstract

No abstract

Whilst the majority of people released from prison in England and Wales return to private places of residence, a significant minority are required to live in Approved Premises as part of their post-custodial licence conditions. The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, it provides an insight into life inside Approved Premises. This subject has largely been neglected in research to-date, despite Approved Premises being important sites of supervision for many people leaving prison. Second, it explores the quality and dynamics of supervisory relationships between members of hostel staff and residents. Based on fieldwork in two Approved Premises, the findings indicate that, although formally equivalent, people subject to penal sanctions may experience and view these sanctions in markedly different ways. Seemingly innocuous variation in policies and practices at a local level, such as open or closed staff office door policies in Approved Premises, can in fact play a pivotal role in the facilitation or hindrance of constructive supervisory relationships, in shaping rehabilitative regimes, and ultimately, in supporting people's successful transitions from prisons to the community.