Code of the suburb book review PDF

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1 Penn State University Crimj 450w Code of the Suburb Book Review

In the Book ‘Code of the Suburb’ author’s Scott Jacques and Richard Wright conduct a study based on adolescent suburban drug dealers who mainly grew up in the commuter zone of Atlanta Georgia. The town which was focused on the authors named “Peachville” features a predominantly white population with a median yearly household income of $70,000. The authors paint a picture of the town off of what many American’s epitomize of as the “suburbs”. The author’s picked participants who grew up in middle-class suburban communities. The first eighteen participants in the study were the author’s Scott friends who he asked to perform a favor by being interviewed for the study. The other twelve participants were referred and brought in by the first eighteen of Scott’s friends. The thirty drug dealers in the study mostly sold marijuana, some sold other substances including ecstasy. Jacques and Wright explain how the adolescents get involved in the drug dealing world, what problems they face in the drug dealing lifestyle and how they handle said problems. As well as why the adolescents quit their drug dealing services down the road. In the second chapter of the book ‘The Pursuit of Coolness’ introduces its relativity and conventional status driving the main focus of drug dealing in the adolescents of Peachville. The dealers explained the significance of “coolness” in their adolescence and the factors of how to perceive cool to their peers. The use of drugs played a role in this determining “cool” factor without even maintaining a “cool” or “lame” label. “Drug use was not cool or lame in and of itself; in other words, there was nothing inherent in consuming a psychoactive substance that increased or decreased the user’s status.” (Jacques, Wright; pg.7). One of the dealers explained

2 that in their subculture this was signal that they “liked to have fun” and “did what they want”. The book further goes into detail of how suburban drug dealers mostly reported that they dealt drugs not to make money exactly but rather to smoke for free. The money obtained from these dealers was merely extra cash to use for other illicit items to add to their subculture of coolness. It was revealed in the book how young suburban drug dealers mostly used the technology acquired by their parents to arrange drug deals. The authors also suggest that social networks of customers were mostly formed through school, extracurricular activities and their jobs.

When adolescent drug dealers reported being caught by their parents, the consequences varied from the parents doing nothing, talking about the problem with an expression of concern, withholding privileges, and, in some instances, taking the drugs and cash away. None of the parents called the police on their children. The dealers in the book reveal strategies to prevent being victimized such as locking their door during a drug deal, and only dealing with certain individuals to avoid “sketchy” customers. Suburban drug dealers acquire conflict management strategies in the case if they were ever wronged during a deal. These tactics included terms that were discussed as “tolerating, avoiding, negotiating, sneaky payback and hitting back”. In the suburban drug dealing world “hitting back” was the least used strategy. The idea arose that suburban drug dealers were less favorable of partaking in actions that involved violence compared to inner city drug dealers. The book ended with detailed explanation behind why and what makes suburban drug dealers stop from continuing their line of work out of their adolescence. According to the authors their main reasoning for discontinuing their line of work mainly is due to their fear of being arrested and obtaining a criminal record. Race and class are important factors to think about when

3 discussing the probability and outcomes of the lives of drug dealers. ‘Code of the suburb’ gives a perfect example as to how the relations of someone’s race and social class standing can interpret outcomes in those who drug deal in Peachville. Of the thirty participants in the study all identified as White or Caucasian as well as came from middle-working class families. In the book as it was discussed only a few out of the thirty who were drug dealers in their youth actually encountered legal trouble. If we were to compare this with someone who deals drugs who happens to be African American and come from a lower income background this percentage would be much higher. ‘The Code of the Suburb’ differs from the ‘The Code of the Street’ in many ways, for one the adolescents who chose to engage in drug dealing did it solely by choice and not for the necessity of survival. Without the intention of making dealing a source of income the interviewees explained that dealing was mainly so they could possess “free” drugs and make extra side cash. Compared to those who live in inner-city locations their choice to engage in this line of work centers around the lack of jobs and means for surviving and providing for their families. Second, suburban drug dealers fear law enforcement and violence, leaving the acts of violence in the form of retaliation as a last resort to their problems. Lastly, many suburban drug dealers end their criminal activity in their adolescents with the hope of having a career one day and not ruining their futures. While the mindset of inner-city drug dealers differs entirely with the idea that there are no other ways to reach success in their lives except for criminal activity like drug dealing. Making dealing of drugs their main occupation and focus to ensure survival. I believe ‘Code of the Suburb’ is an important piece of work for many reasons. First, it provides readers with a glimpse into the lives of young drug dealers who come from established communities. This being a topic which has not been talked about or looked into more closely

4 until this case study. More importantly, this book illustrates that individuals who are White and middle-class yield considerable power and are simply not subject to the same laws and consequences as those who are racial minorities. Today, in the United States, African Americans are overrepresented in prisons and jails by a ratio of 5:1 and often receive significantly longer sentences than Whites or even Hispanics (National Research Council, 2014). Anyone who reads Code of the Suburbs/Streets is likely to see the systemic racism and inequality within this realm of criminal activity as well as the American criminal justice system.

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References Jacques, Scott, and Richard Wright. Code of the Suburb: inside the World of Young Middle-Class Drug Dealers. University of Chicago Press, 2015.

National Research Council. 2014. The Growth of Incarceration in the United States: Exploring Causes and Consequences. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press....