This paper is based on an ethnographic study of the arrests and the subsequent trial and
sentencing of a group of Latin Kings and Queens from Barcelona between 2015 and 2020.
We analyze the actions carried out by the police, judicial institutions and media to reestab‑
lish the “hard handed” discourse in relation to these youth street groups in a time of crisis
and precariousness. The concept of a “space of youth street groups” is used to construct a
tool for mapping the agents who interact with ...
This paper is based on an ethnographic study of the arrests and the subsequent trial and
sentencing of a group of Latin Kings and Queens from Barcelona between 2015 and 2020.
We analyze the actions carried out by the police, judicial institutions and media to reestab‑
lish the “hard handed” discourse in relation to these youth street groups in a time of crisis
and precariousness. The concept of a “space of youth street groups” is used to construct a
tool for mapping the agents who interact with these groups and the position they occupy in
the social space. The interactions between these agents in Barcelona confgure a new form
of security governance through the creation of subjective insecurity and the promotion of
punitive policies against youth street groups.
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