The social meaning of snitching in Chinese drug detention centers

Abstract

Snitching is the act of providing information to the authorities in exchange for rewards. Although snitching is, strictly speaking, a taboo among street offenders and prison inmates worldwide, offenders regard some types of snitching as relatively more acceptable than others. Studies regarding the social meaning of snitching have mostly been conducted with reference to American and European contexts, while the situation in the Asian or Chinese context has not been thoroughly explored. This paper helps to fill a research gap by examining the characteristics of the social meaning of snitching in a severely under-researched context—the inmate culture within Chinese drug detention centers. Our discussion is based on data collected from semi-structured interviews with 28 former inmates of drug detention centers, and it endeavors to explore how offenders conceptualize snitching and why they perceive snitching in the way they do. Our findings show that, while inmates in Chinese drug detention centers generally despise snitching, they see some specific forms of snitching as normal or even necessary. We analyze how inmates rationalize snitching behavior in these specific cases, and argue that this process is shaped by the collective control system implemented in the detention centers: (1) the collective merit system that connects each person’s well-being to the collective well-being, and (2) the informant mechanism that divides inmates into competing factions. Finally, theoretical implications are provided.

Coexisting with Drug Addiction: Strategies Used by Hong Kong’s Older Mixed Users to Improve Their Perceived Quality of Life

“…Mainland China, Laos, Malaysia, and Thailand). This policy has exposed many older mixed users to repeated experiences of involuntary drug treatment and drug detention (Cheng, 2019;Cheng & Lapto, 2021;Loera, 2017;Yuan & Liu, 2023). Findings of this study are consistent with the findings of studies in American and European contexts that do not find compulsory drug treatment more effective than other treatment methods (Werb et al, 2016) and suggest that compulsory drug treatment generates increased frustration that may adversely influence their determination and confidence in achieving abstinence when they become more ready to do so.…”

“…Inmates staying in these facilities are those who meet all the following conditions: (1) use drugs; (2) are convicted of minor offences; and (3) are considered suitable for treatment by the courts. Compulsory drug treatment facilities in Hong Kong are similar to those in Mainland China and other Asian countries (Cheng & Lapto, 2021). The inmates are not allowed to leave the facilities until they have completed their treatment programmes.…”

Do Control, Peers, and Permissive Attitudes to Drugs Influence Drug Use Frequency in a Gendered Way?

“…However, as there is no professional biopsychological assessment of drug users’ addiction levels when they enter the institution, detainees are assigned to the same treatment programs regardless of their drug use histories (Liu & Hsiao, 2018). Lectures on drug-related laws and compulsory labor are most common in these institutions (Cheng & Lapto, 2021). Evidence-based treatment programs such as individual counseling or peer support programs are scarce in most institutions.…”