Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Dedication
- Contents
- List of tables, figures and boxes
- Glossary
- About the author
- Acknowledgements
- Preface: living and working in the social field
- One Introduction
- Two Academic gangland
- Three The game, the stakes, the players: key concepts
- Four House rules, game rules and game strategies
- Five Players, positioning and keeping order
- Six Playing the game: generating and keeping your chips
- Seven Staying in the game – and playing to win
- Eight The game in action: habitus, street capital and territory
- Nine Learning the risks of the game: life in the landscape of risk
- Ten Surviving in the game
- Elven Creating the house advantage: the role of information
- Twelve Playing the queen: gender in the gang
- Thirteen The wheel of fortune: the sanctions repertoire
- Fourteen The street casino
- References
- Appendix A SW9 postcode
- Appendix B Lambeth key crime types
- Appendix C The Duluth Power and Control Wheel
- Appendix D Example of gang evolution and fracturing: organised crime
- Appendix E Approximate gang locations in SW9 (July 2011)
- Appendix F Timeline of known gangs in SW9
- Index
Six - Playing the game: generating and keeping your chips
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 04 March 2022
- Frontmatter
- Dedication
- Contents
- List of tables, figures and boxes
- Glossary
- About the author
- Acknowledgements
- Preface: living and working in the social field
- One Introduction
- Two Academic gangland
- Three The game, the stakes, the players: key concepts
- Four House rules, game rules and game strategies
- Five Players, positioning and keeping order
- Six Playing the game: generating and keeping your chips
- Seven Staying in the game – and playing to win
- Eight The game in action: habitus, street capital and territory
- Nine Learning the risks of the game: life in the landscape of risk
- Ten Surviving in the game
- Elven Creating the house advantage: the role of information
- Twelve Playing the queen: gender in the gang
- Thirteen The wheel of fortune: the sanctions repertoire
- Fourteen The street casino
- References
- Appendix A SW9 postcode
- Appendix B Lambeth key crime types
- Appendix C The Duluth Power and Control Wheel
- Appendix D Example of gang evolution and fracturing: organised crime
- Appendix E Approximate gang locations in SW9 (July 2011)
- Appendix F Timeline of known gangs in SW9
- Index
Summary
‘First it’s kicks, then it’s money.’
West African male older
Playing ‘the game’
The stages of ‘the game’ are readily understood by all in the social field. As determined by the habitus, the rules are firmly established and quickly become known to prospective players. Actors in the social field must first accumulate starting chips. They are then invited to join ‘the game’. In the gang social field of SW9, those about to join the gang must first generate respect. They must then quickly manufacture street capital by developing a reputation. Establishing a reputation in the social field permits entry into ‘the game’.
‘When I was in my first gang, the older lot above me were the bruvvas of the group that I was in and then there was a younger lot behind me. And I’m not established in this group, I’m new. No-one knows who I am. So, what happened was something came up and everybody run and I didn’t. I just stayed there and run at ‘em, run at the crew. Everyone was like, “He's a nutter!” That was it, it was just like, that's it, the end of the line, man. That's it, I’m freelancing. I’m in the “cools” now. So now I’m working for the bigger group. So I’ve gone from here to working for the bigger group as I’ve established my leadership qualities amongst my peer pressure. So now, I’m working for the bigger group, getting bigger vibes and betting brought into bigger situations.’ (African Caribbean male elder)
New starters will be severely tested during this process. They select from a range of strategies in the expressive repertoire. Initial strategies include personal branding and evidencing your new gang affiliation (for example, wearing colours) before graduating to strategic action affects the wider community. During this process, the players test the repertoire and also the boundaries of the social field.
Once this part of ‘the game’ has been successfully completed, players may then ‘move up’ to the next level. This is the stage of maximising street capital. Here players exhibit strong or profound attachments to the gang and its ‘endz’. Goods acquired through strategic action may now be actively sold within the community to generate further street capital.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The Street CasinoSurvival in Violent Street Gangs, pp. 109 - 134Publisher: Bristol University PressPrint publication year: 2014