1. Zain1 : “I’m Not in a Gang – I’m a Businessman”
Zain is serving a custodial sentence for a gang-related crime, but does not self-identify as being a gang member. Rather he describes himself as being “a businessman”. He does not describe his criminal history in any great length, characterising his ‘drift’ into criminality in the following terms: “Gangs are all about postcodes – areas; I got dragged into it. Actually, I started off legitimate, doing good things - just chilling out, playing football and stuff. But then I was like hanging around with 32 year olds when I was 24…and then in [name of area] you’ve got some racist police officers, so that pushes you towards it [crime].” As well as the influence of these older peers, Zain attributes a wider family role to crime commission, stating that “once you’re out and about, you end up getting to know who’s who [in the criminal world]…your cousins and whatever else”. After getting “out and about”, Zain became established with the criminal groups who operated in his area, and these bonds continue to strongly exist in prison: “Me and my family moved to [name of area] when I was a teenager…so when I’m on [name of wing], it’s chilled out, ’cos it’s all the lads are from [name of area] and we’re all equal.” Whilst Zain is adamant that “there aren’t no gangs in here” he conceded that in the prison “there’s just three sets of lads”, and goes on to identify each of these “sets” by racial group.
Although Zain only briefly mentions the crime he is in prison for, it is clear that his street loyalties applied in prison from the very beginning of his custodial sentence: “When I was on [name of prison wing], our group was made up of about 35/40...lads. But we stuck together. So if any dickhead comes out, we sort it out. Later, us lads got with [name of gang]. Then a couple of racists come onto our wing. They soon got filled in [attacked], and it was sorted out.” However, Zain has never self-identified as a gang member, stating that he is “more of a businessman. You see, when you say gang, I think hand signs, red bandanas, dogs. We didn't have none of that”. Accordingly, even though his own crime was classed by the Courts as being gang-related, he blames this on the media, who “talk rubbish”, and “don’t know what goes on…They get it all wrong.” He laughs at the offences he has been convicted of and adamantly states, “I’m not in no gang!” Zain also does not appear to be focused on his past or future, instead, directing most of his attention towards his time in custody. His “group of mates” from the streets ensures that he is not victimized by other prison gangs, who “know who’s vulnerable” and who “sniff you out” if your enter prison knowing no-one: “They’ll be waiting at the gates…that’s jail life”.