Hyper-agency and county lines
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6458431 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Sally Atkinson-Sheppard (0009-0001-0626-4483, University of Westminster, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2024 |
| Volume | 29 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 231-245 |
| Publication date | 2024-08-08 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Theoretical Criminology (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1362-4806 • E-ISSN: 1461-7439 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1177/13624806241265677 |
| OpenAlex | W4401469424 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 3 |
| References cited | 28 |
The article considers the decision-making and actions of young people engaged in county lines. By drawing on data gathered with practitioners and young people associated with a homeless charity in London, the article argues that in convergence with existing theory, the agency that young people exhibit is ambiguous, blurring the boundaries of what children should and should not do. Agency is also tactical; the thoughts and actions taken by young people have a purpose, linked to profit generation, social inclusion and protection. In addition, young people's ability to act and make decisions is embedded within wider notions of hyper-consumerism, hyper-realities and lives lived online. To explore this further, the article proposes the notion of ‘hyper-agency
Agency (philosophy · Consumerism · Political science · Public relations · Social science · Sociology · Structure and agency · Gender, Feminism, and Media · Homelessness and Social Issues · Law · Youth Education and Societal Dynamics
The Gang and Beyond
The Sociology of Children, Childhood and Generation
Decolonizing Childhoods
The Gangs of Bangladesh
Constructing and Reconstructing Childhood
Between gang talk and prohibition
Coercion and crime
From contextual to criminal harms
Ambiguous agency
Going viral’ and ‘Going country’
Going solo
That’s their brand, their business’
The Child’s Right to Protection against Economic Exploitation in the Digital World
Digital Street Culture Decoded
Trap Life’
Illicit Drug Markets, Consumer Capitalism and the Rise of Social Media
Southern Criminology
Considering an agency-vulnerability nexus in the lives of street children and youth
Techniques of Neutralization
Dying to live
Street children and 'protective agency
| Unique citing works | 3 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 3 |
| Citation span | 2025 - 2026 (2) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 2 |