The social meaning of snitching in Chinese drug detention centers
| Author | Florence K Lapto,Vincent S Cheng |
| Published date | 01 July 2021 |
| Date | 01 July 2021 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/1462474520949817 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Article
The social meaning of
snitching in Chinese drug
detention centers
Vincent S Cheng and
Florence K Lapto
The Open University of Hong Kong, China
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 accept-
able 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 neces-
sary. 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.
Keywords
collectivistic control, drug detention, inmate culture, snitching, substance abuse
Corresponding author:
Vincent S Cheng, School of Arts and Social Sciences, The Open University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
Email: vcheng@ouhk.edu.hk
Punishment & Society
2021, Vol. 23(3) 355–375
!The Author(s) 2020
Article reuse guidelines:
sagepub.com/journals-permissions
DOI: 10.1177/1462474520949817
journals.sagepub.com/home/pun
Introduction
Snitching, the act of providing information to authorities in exchange for rewards,
is generally seen as a taboo among street offenders and prison inmates (Akerstr€
om,
1989; Asbury, 2011; Clampet-Lundquist et al., 2015; Garland and Wilson, 2013).
Notwithstanding, some studies suggest that snitching is prevalent in prisons and
detention centers and that some types of snitching are regarded by offenders as
more acceptable than others (Clampet-Lundquist et al., 2015; Rosenfeld et al.,
2003; Ugelvik, 2014). Studies on the social meaning of snitching have mostly
been conducted with reference to American and European contexts, while the
Asian and Chinese contexts have not been thoroughly explored. One potential
reason is that access to such institutions is limited for researchers. This study
helps to fill that research gap by offering insights into the social life of carceral
institutions in a severely under-researched context through exploring and explain-
ing the characteristics of the social meaning of snitching in the Chinese context.
The study focuses on how inmate culture is shaped by the general feature of con-
finement and the specific control mechanisms used in Chinese drug detention
centers. Based on semi-structured interviews with 28 former inmates of drug deten-
tion centers, our findings show that, while inmates of Chinese drug detention
centers generally despise snitching, they see some specific forms of snitching as
normal or even necessary. We will analyze how inmates rationalize snitching
behavior in these specific cases, and argue that this process is affected by (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. We argue that while our findings are similar to the findings of studies
conducted in the American and European contexts, the type of snitching consid-
ered acceptable by the Chinese drug detention inmates is specific to the context
studied here, and is done to prevent collective punishments.
The social meaning of snitching
Snitching involves two aspects. First, there is the provision of certain information
to the authorities (Asbury, 2011; Clampet-Lundquist et al., 2015; Meehan et al.,
2019; Rosenfeld et al., 2003; Ugelvik, 2014). This information is usually about the
general misbehavior or lawbreaking behavior of another person, and often puts
this person at risk of formal or informal sanction. The second aspect of snitching is
that the person who snitches usually receives material or non-material rewards
from the authorities (Hewitt and Natapoff, 2012; Natapoff, 2009; Rosenfeld
et al., 2003).
Unacceptable snitching
Snitching is usually condemned in the criminal underworld (Asbury, 2011;
Clampet-Lundquist et al., 2015). Studies have found that people in the underworld
honor a street code that emphasizes loyalty to other criminals, or to prison inmates
356 Punishment & Society 23(3)
To continue reading
Request your trial