Cousins in Crime: Mobility, Place and Belonging in Indigenous Youth Co-Offending

This paper examines serious repeat offending among a cohort of young Indigenous Australians dubbed the 'Gang of 49'. Drawing chiefly on interviews, we explore the importance of mobility, place, belonging and alcohol in shaping the resilience and notoriety of this group over the past decade. We consider the broader significance of ethnic and familial ties in offenders' lives, and explicate the complex ways in which these ties contribute overwhelmingly to offender convergence for the commission of crime but only very rarely to occasions for offender divergence from crime. In concluding, we argue that the nature of co-offending among this group is rhizomatic and thereby demands a very different law enforcement (and political) response than has pertained to date.