Chaotic conceptualisation, hyper-chronocentrism and cautionary tales: A cultural realist analysis of County Lines

A decade after County Lines drug supply was initially identified by the National Crime Agency, this article critically examines its cultural legacy. While County Lines has become embedded within public, political and policy discourse as a novel and urgent threat, this article analyses the concept’s coherence and the knowledge claims surrounding it. Drawing on theoretical tools associated with critical realism and cultural criminology, it develops a ‘cultural realist’ analysis that seeks to transcend some of the limitations of current criminological discussions in this area. The article is divided into three sections. The first examines the ontological status of County Lines, arguing that its conceptual vagueness and lack of coherence constitutes a ‘chaotic concept’. The second section scrutinises the epistemic condition of County Lines, proposing the concept of ‘hyper-chronocentrism’ to make sense of how the disciplinary critique of criminology being in a constant search for the ‘new’ is intensified in this context. The third section focuses on representation and draws on the concept of the ‘cautionary tale’ to argue that ideas of blame, risk and victimisation in the cultural narratives surrounding County Lines are better understood through this framework, rather than that of ‘moral panic’. The analysis concludes with reflections on these findings.