Community experiences of serious organised crime in Scotland: research report

2. Methods, research design and data

This chapter details the research design and methodological issues involved in an 18-month study of the community impact of SOC in Scotland. The study is unique in that it sought to move beyond police and law enforcement perceptions of organised crime to engage a range of community voices including young people, older adults, local residents and business owners, as well as representatives of local charities, groups and organisations.

The study focused on three geographical sites with an enduring presence of organised crime, as well as two smaller studies involving more diffuse and rural communities. While the report prioritises the lived experiences of a cross-section of local residents, the study also engaged in separate data-collection with local police and statutory agencies, including social work, housing, and education. This data was used to enrich the findings from community interviews and explore the barriers to service provision in the case-study areas.

This chapter introduces the research design, including a discussion of methods; discusses the typology used to specify differences between the case-study areas; and outlines issues relating to sampling, limitations, and ethics.

Research Design

The study sought to provide, for the first time, focused qualitative research on the community experiences of organised crime in Scotland, from individuals who may have an awareness of SOC in their communities and been affected by it, either directly or indirectly. The study therefore aimed to provide policy-makers, statutory agencies, service providers, partner agencies, and other relevant stakeholders with a richer understanding of the direct and indirect harms associated with SOC. The study sought to answer the following questions and proceeded in three stages:

• What are the relationships that exist between SOC and communities in Scotland?
• What are the experiences and perceptions of residents, stakeholders and organisations of the extent and nature of SOC within their local area?
• How does SOC impact on community wellbeing, and to what extent can the harms associated with SOC be mitigated?

Stage 1: Mapping, scoping and site-selection

The first stage involved a period of mapping of communities with enduring experiences of organised crime to inform site-selection. Fourteen interviews were completed with a range of stakeholders assessed as holding expertise or insight in this area, including police, statutory agencies, and third sector organisations. These interviews were supplemented by an analysis of open-source documentation pertaining to organised crime in Scotland to establish a set of profiles and protocols for potential fieldsites.

These profiles were compared with 'sanitised' intelligence from Police Scotland pertaining to their assessment of the SOC 'footprint' in Scottish communities, as well as analyses conducted by colleagues in the Scottish Community Development Centre ( SCDC) as to the potential access routes within the areas. The final site selection was therefore based on expert interviews, area profiles, police intelligence, and existing community networks (further detail is provided on case study typologies at the end of the chapter).

Stage 2: Case study fieldwork

The second stage of the study involved further qualitative interviews, focus groups, and observations in the case-study sites, conducted between February and November 2017. Case study research took place under two parallel streams, with data collected from community residents and other agencies using different research teams. This strategy was designed to protect the anonymity of participants, enhance confidentiality of data, and minimise harm; to promote methodological rigour; and to prioritise community experiences.

For community fieldwork, access strategies drew on the expertise and networks of SCDC, an agency that has established community relations with over 700 organisations across Scotland. Sampling strategies sought to engage a cross-section of local residents, including young people, local organisations and business owners, as well as individuals with lived experience of SOC. Interviews covered themes including: perceptions of community; meanings associated with 'organised' crime; experiences of victimisation and/or crime; and changes over time.

A total of 84 community participants from the case study areas engaged with the study across the case-study locations, including 66 individual interviews and 18 focus group participants. All respondents were given general information about the project before the interviews were arranged. The interviews were conducted using a thematic interview template, rather than a structured schedule of questions. The questioning changed across interviews and between fieldsites based on the respondent, their experiences and their communities. The interviews took place in the premises of local charities, cafes, and offices, with three interviews taking place as 'walking' interviews around the local area (Kusenbach 2003) to gain a physical sense of the landscape of SOC in the local area.

Five focus groups were conducted with 16 young people and two teachers across three secondary schools in the case-study locations. Headteachers were given full details of the research project in advance, followed by an initial meeting with a member of the research team to address any questions. Students participated voluntarily, with teachers assisting with invitation and facilitation. The sample included those known to have familiarity with SOC and others who didn't.

Table 1.1, below, details the demographic profile of community participants.

Table 1.1: Demographic profile of community participants

Fieldsite	M	F	< 18	18-30	31-50	51-75	Total
Site 1	10	14	2	4	13	5	24
Site 2	10	11	9	4	4	4	21
Site 3	10	14	5	3	10	6	24
Site 4*	3	12	0	4	10	1	15
Totals	33	51	16	15	37	16	84

*Site 4 involved fieldwork in two 'mini' case-study sites.

In addition, informal interviews and observations were conducted in twelve local business premises across the case-study locations. Drawing on an established Home Office methodology (Tilley and Hopkins 2008), interviews took place outside peak business hours and involved note-taking rather than recording. Businesses available for approach were identified visually, and approaches were largely opportunistic, based on a mix of cold-calling businesses that were open and following-up pre-existing contacts made through the broader community fieldwork. These interviews explored the positive and negative features of doing business in the local area, feelings of security, instances of victimisation, relationships with local service providers, and perceptions of organised crime. Demographic details were not recorded for reasons of anonymity.

For fieldwork with police and other agencies, access strategies relied on arrangements agreed between the Scottish Government and relevant statutory agencies. Memoranda of understanding were signed with relevant heads of service, although in some cases access was negotiated through local representatives. Sampling strategies focused on engaging with key contacts for the relevant fieldsite, focusing on individuals with front-line experience as well as with regional oversight. A total of 52 interviews were conducted with representatives of: police (20), social work (10), housing (10), local authorities/third sector (8), and other statutory agencies (4). Interview themes covered: the nature and patterning of organised crime; changes over time; forms of intervention; and success and failure.

Stage 3: Triangulation and additional sampling

The third stage of the study involved additional sampling and triangulation. Through a data calibration exercise two gaps were identified: 1) individuals with lived experience of organised crime; and 2) community and statutory agency perspectives on organised crime of a more diffuse nature. In response, two further periods of data-collection were undertaken.

The first involved interviews and focus groups with individuals with lived experience of organised crime in Scotland. Two interviews were conducted through referrals, while the remaining ten were engaged through focus groups in the Scottish prison estate, through assistance from the study's Research Advisory Group. Participants were involved in a programme focusing on offending behaviour and participated voluntarily. Discussions focused on participants' experiences of organised crime in their local area, as both victims and perpetrators, principally pertaining to the local drugs trade but also to theft and violence. Discussions were not recorded but written up as fieldnotes immediately after.

The second involved fourteen interviews with individuals and organisations engaged in issues of SOC of a national, diffuse nature. Interviews were conducted with a range of third sector and statutory agencies working on issues of labour exploitation and human trafficking, particularly among migrant communities, at a national level.

Table 1.2, below, offers an overview of the various stages of data-collection.

Table 1.2: Overview of data-collection

Stage	Participant Group	Site 1 Type 1	Site 2 Type 1	Site 3 Type 2	Site 4* Type 3	National	Total
1	Expert interviews					14	14
2	Community participants	24	21	24	15		84
	Business participants	5		4	3		12
	Statutory participants	20	13	7	12		52
3	People with lived experience of SOC					12	12
	Stakeholders in diffuse SOC					14	14
Total		49	34	35	30	40	188

*Site 4 involved fieldwork in two 'mini' case-study sites.

Stage 4: Data analysis and community co-inquiry

The final stage of the study involved qualitative data analysis and the presentation of emerging findings to a sub-sample of participants, using a method called 'community co-inquiry.'

Data analysis occurred over several stages. In line with established protocols, interviews and focus groups were transcribed verbatim, in full or part, and analysed based on a number of 'sensitising concepts' (Willis 2000) flowing from the research questions, while also drawing on the principles of 'analytic realism' (Altheide and Johnson 1998). A combination of analytical techniques, including use of the qualitative software Nvivo, was used to organise the data. The analytical themes which emerged were used to order and structure the presentation of the data.

Based on initial findings from this analysis, in February 2018 colleagues from SCDC led on the design and delivery of three community 'co-inquiry' events in the case-study locations. These events re-engaged a sub-sample of 33 community participants to discuss preliminary findings from the report, including study participants and local community stakeholders, with the aim of generating strategies for community action and response. The co-inquiry method offers an opportunity for participating communities to feed back on the emerging findings.

Co-inquiry events involved a two-stage process. First, participants were presented with an accessible overview of findings and asked to discuss the extent to which these did or did not resonate with their experiences. Second, participants were asked to explore suggestions for shifts in practice, policy or community responses that could help prevent crime, tackle its social determinants, or help communities deal with its impact (a detailed methodology and findings for these events are included as an appendix to this report). These events informed the final stage of data analysis that informed the final conclusions and recommendations of the study.

Case-study typology

Drawing from the work of Von Lampe (2004), the study used a three-point typology to explore the community impact of organised crime: (1) urban, embedded; (2) semi-urban, embedded; and (3) national, diffuse.

Type 1. Urban, embedded

Type 1 relations are defined by the longstanding presence of organised crime groups in a local area, within which the illicit marketplace represents an embedded aspect of community activity. Individuals, groups, and families known to be linked to organised crime are part of the background to everyday life, and ongoing disputes form a topic of neighbourhood lore. Activities range from licit to illicit markets but focus on exploitation of vulnerabilities and the supply of illicit products and services. Examples include the illicit drug trade, private security, money-lending, and fraud. These 'urban, embedded' relations are found in cities across Scotland.

Fieldwork was conducted in two type 1 communities, (site 1 and site 2). The communities identified as type 1 contained datazones within the top 25% of deprivation in the 2016 Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation ( SIMD), with several in the top 5%. Both sites experienced long-term social and economic disadvantage, connected to the decline of Scottish manufacturing industries. The sites in question were also assessed by Police Scotland as indicating a 'significant' or 'very significant' organised crime footprint.

In both areas, the presence of organised crime was understood as a normal and routine aspect of everyday life. Whilst only a minority of respondents had been directly victimised, the vast majority of community respondents were aware of the broader effects of organised crime in their areas, and the ways in which such activity impacted on their day-to-day lives, eroded their sense of safety, and damaged the future prospects of the community as a whole.

Type 2. Semi-urban, embedded

Type 2 relations pertain to semi-urban contexts, involving defined clusters of villages and/or towns within short commuting distance of larger cities, yet exhibiting independent geographical and economic life. These communities are, by and large, founded on former manufacturing industries, particularly coal-mining, steel mills, or cotton and jute industries, and have suffered from long-term decline as a result of de-industrialisation. These clustered communities are particularly common in the central belt and west coast of Scotland. Case-study fieldwork was conducted in one geographical area in this category, listed as site 3 in the report.

Given its semi-urban context, this case-study fieldsite extended beyond a single locality to incorporate a number of adjacent areas, including those assessed by the police as indicating a 'negligible' and 'significant' organised crime footprint respectively, reflecting differences in the social, economic and cultural history of the areas. These assessments were also borne out by local observations; one area in particular had a strong association with crime and drug use, echoing similar 'area reputations' in the larger cities. It is notable that these pockets were also those identified by police as containing a more 'significant' SOC presence.

The case-study fieldsite was composed of a relatively static local population, and the organised crime presence was more static than in type 1 communities. While the illicit goods traded were similar, the market was less lucrative and competitive than in larger urban conurbations. As opposed to type 1 communities, where large crime 'families' and firms were the norm, in type 2 communities it was more common to find a smaller number of 'known' individuals responsible for SOC in the area. In the case-study area, for example, frequent mention was made of a local figure who owned all of the local businesses engaged in SOC activity.

Type 3. National, diffuse

Type 3 relations are not defined by a single community base but rather by more flexible, mobile and hidden networks of vulnerability and exploitation. This often involves SOC groups with territorial bases elsewhere, for example from England or abroad, with illicit activities coordinated through brokers and networks. Fieldwork was carried out in two 'mini' case-study sites, supplemented by national-level interviews. 'Diffuse' activities focused on first: flexible and mobile forms of drug supply, and second: economic exploitation, such as human trafficking and labour exploitation.

The first of these activies relates to locations where there is no historical organised crime presence but where there is nonetheless a market for drugs and illicit goods. In this circumstance, groups from elsewhere establish a flexible route to supply the market, most commonly drugs or exploitation. SOC groups may bypass the central belt of Scotland and trace back to networks in England, or operate as 'spokes' from the hubs of Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen. This pattern was particularly noted in semi-urban and rural contexts across the north east of Scotland.

The second form of activity identified pertains to SOC groups without a strong territorial base, but strong UK-wide networks, creating specific opportunities for exploitation. These forms of exploitation were seen to impact specifically on migrant communities, particularly those with precarious visa arrangements. Such exploitation particularly occurred in cash industries with weak regulation, such as car washes and nail bars, but also in more organised business ventures such as factories and restaurants.

Fig 2: Summary of case study typology

Sampling, limitations and ethical issues

Given the qualitative nature of the inquiry, participants were selected on the basis of a range of knowledge and experience of organised crime, rather than sampled characteristics such as age, gender or ethnicity. Nonetheless, effort was made to capture a diverse sample of participants by age and gender.

Participants were not asked to self-nominate ethnicity, and the resultant cohort represented the broader demographic profile of the communities in which the study took place, which average 96% White (Scottish, Other British, Irish, Polish, and Other) at the last census (Scottish Government 2011). Sampling on the basis of ethnicity or other equalities characteristics was beyond the scope of the study.

The study sought to gather a cross-section of community experiences of organised crime from the case-study areas and utilised a referral-based, or 'snowball', sampling strategy to reach suitable participants. In three of the case-study sites, local fieldworkers were employed to assist in recruitment and interviewing as a means of reaching individuals that would not usually participate in academic research.

Mirroring recent public attitudes surveys (Scottish Government 2018b), only a minority of respondents discussed direct experiences of victimisation. Nonetheless, and in contrast to the broader findings of that survey, the vast majority of community respondents were aware of the broader effects of organised crime in their areas, and the ways in which such activity impacts on their day-to-day lives and their sense of safety in the community. It is notable, however, that connections between street crime and organised crime were often based on informed perception rather than direct experience.

While the case study areas had traits that were similar to other communities in Scotland, however, it should be noted that these findings should not be read as a generalised picture of SOC-community relations in Scotland. While these themes were evident across the various case study locations, it is notable that there were differences in intensity between urban, semi-urban, and rural contexts. The intensity was highest in the urban embedded context and least intense in the diffuse location.

A study of this nature demanded a sophisticated approach to the avoidance of harm and the protection of participants. Achieving this involved both adherence to overarching ethical principles as well as detailed protocols in relation to site-selection and oversight, access and recruitment, informed consent, anonymity and confidentiality, and vulnerability and harm minimisation. The study proceeded in accordance with the British Sociological Association Ethical Guidelines and the British Society of Criminology Statement of Ethical Practice, and received ethical approval from the University of Glasgow Ethics Committee. All individuals and communities who participated are anonymised in this report, with identifying features removed.

Summary

This chapter has provided an overview of the methods, the research design, and data protocols involved in the study. In seeking to answer new questions relating to the community experiences of organised crime in Scotland, the study employed a rigorous three-stage research design involving two separate strands of data-collection in three primary and two 'mini' case-study sites. Data-collection was structured by a three-point typology of SOC-community relations, including: (1) urban, embedded; (2) semi-urban, embedded; and (3) national, diffuse. Across these areas, the study involved the participation of 188 individuals, representing a wide cross-section of age, gender and experience, through interviews and focus groups. The study also successfully engaged 33 participants in community 'co-inquiry' sessions focused on triangulating findings and devising collective responses. Subsequent chapters will introduce the principal findings of the study.