Ordinary people, criminals, addicts and recreational users: Swedish court of law descriptions of persons sentenced for online drug purchases

Tiberg, Fredrik; Nordgren, Johan

doi:10.1177/14550725221079524

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

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“…The courts also describe the street capital of the sentenced persons as a reflection of personal circumstances in terms of values and social networks, which is reflected in a previous study on sentenced purchasers on online drug markets (Tiberg and Nordgren, 2022). In the present study, digital capital is not described as a reflection of personal circumstances, but rather as a form of competence, which means that the courts describe street capital mainly as a form of criminal social capital and digital capital as a form of criminal human capital (Nguyen, 2020).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Between street and digital capital? A qualitative study of judicial sentencing of persons convicted of online drug dealing in Sweden

Nordgren

Tiberg

2023

DHS

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Purpose Drug sales facilitated through digital communication on the surface web and on darknet cryptomarkets have increased during the past two decades. This has resulted in an increase in drug law enforcement efforts to combat these markets and a subsequent increase in judicial sentencing of people selling drugs online. The aim of this study was to analyze how Swedish courts describe sentenced sellers and how the courts apply case law. Design/methodology/approach The empirical material consists of 71 sentencing documents produced by Swedish courts in cases of online drug selling between January 1, 2010 and January 1, 2020. In total, 99 sentenced persons occur in the documents. Using a qualitative research design, the authors analyzed the material through thematic text analysis. Findings Overall, in their descriptions of online drug sale operations, the courts’ characterizations of the concepts of street capital and digital capital show a dichotomy. These forms of capital are situationally described as both aggravating and mitigating aspects in the application of case law, indicating that it may be fruitful to view both street and digital capital as resources used on contemporary drug markets in general. Originality/value Very little research exists into how judicial systems describe and perceive the developing phenomenon of online drug sales. Using a relatively large sample from a decade of sentencing, the authors provide an analysis of how Swedish courts view and valuate capital forms in the online drugs trade.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%