The social construction of snitches

Dados Bibliográficos

ID2152249
AutoresMalin Akerstrom (0000-0002-9780-7569, Lund University, autor correspondente)
Ano1988
Volume9
Fascículo2
Páginas155-167
Data de publicação1988-04-01
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessNão
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoDeviant Behavior (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 0163-9625 • E-ISSN: 1521-0456
EditoraInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/01639625.1988.9967776
OpenAlexW2070936991
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas8
Referências citadas12

The norm against snitching is emphasized in criminal groups. However, before punishing the culprits, they need to be identified. This article describes how Swedish inmates in a prison situation try to find out who the snitches are and whether they have informed outside or inside prison. This includes a process of searching for information, such as discerning which inmates receive otherwise unearned privileges or who talk to guards or have motives for informing. The information is often obtained in personal communication but since this source is not always seen as trustworthy, proof is searched for in the suspect's police and court records and other “papers.” Furthermore, it is argued that when a definition is finally made it has to be viewed as a social construction since most inmates, while pointing to one or a few specific inmates as snitches, still believe that most inmates have informed at some point. In agreement with Shibutani's theory of rumors, this construction is made through a process of accepting and rejecting pieces of information until a final consensus in the group has been reached

Criminology · Norm (philosophy · Political science · Prison · Sociology · Suspect · Trustworthiness · Crime, Deviance, and Social Control · Law · Psychology · Social Psychology