Crack house
Encyclopedia
Crack house is a term mainly used in the United States
used to describe an old, often abandoned or burnt-out building often in an inner-city neighborhood where drug dealers and drug users buy, sell, produce, and use illegal drugs, including, but not limited to, crack cocaine
.
In the 1980s, inner city neighborhoods were subject to a number of forces, including white flight
, redlining
, planned shrinkage
, and withdrawal of city services such as garbage collection
. Police and fire protection of the housing stock in these areas dwindled both in size and quality. In areas such as North Philadelphia, West Philadelphia
, the South Bronx
, Brownsville, Brooklyn
, South Jamaica, Queens
and Flushing, Queens
thousands of fires left entire blocks blighted.
City agencies picked these same neighborhoods as sites for drug rehabilitation
centers, homeless shelters, and public housing
, leading to an increase in the proportion of poor and needy people in areas with dwindling middle-class populations.
The strongest economy in some neighborhoods became the Illegal drug trade
, much to the chagrin of the few remaining community organizations. Abandoned buildings ravaged by arson or neglect formed perfect outposts for drug dealers since they were free, obscure, secluded and there would be no paper trail in the form of rent receipts. The sale of illegal drugs drew other kinds of violent crime to these neighborhoods further exacerbating the exodus of residents.
In some cases enraged citizens have burned crack houses to the ground, in hopes that by destroying the sites for drug operations they might also drive the problematic illegal industries from their neighborhoods.
Many major American inner cities contain crack houses.
and Wales
provides a mechanism for police and local authorities to close crack houses which have been associated with disorder or serious nuisance. Often, these crack houses have been found in social housing, which has been taken over by drug dealers and users.
Laws such as the crack house closure order were designed to disrupt Class A drug dealing and anecdotal evidence suggests that it mainly affects socially housed tenants. The effect is that once an order is made, the premises are boarded up, and no one may enter the premises, initially for a period of three months, but this can be extended to six months on the application of the police.
music and films such as Crack House and the Taj Mahal sequence in Spike Lee's
film Jungle Fever
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
used to describe an old, often abandoned or burnt-out building often in an inner-city neighborhood where drug dealers and drug users buy, sell, produce, and use illegal drugs, including, but not limited to, crack cocaine
Crack cocaine
Crack cocaine is the freebase form of cocaine that can be smoked. It may also be termed rock, hard, iron, cavvy, base, or just crack; it is the most addictive form of cocaine. Crack rocks offer a short but intense high to smokers...
.
In the 1980s, inner city neighborhoods were subject to a number of forces, including white flight
White flight
White flight has been a term that originated in the United States, starting in the mid-20th century, and applied to the large-scale migration of whites of various European ancestries from racially mixed urban regions to more racially homogeneous suburban or exurban regions. It was first seen as...
, redlining
Redlining
Redlining is the practice of denying, or increasing the cost of services such as banking, insurance, access to jobs, access to health care, or even supermarkets to residents in certain, often racially determined, areas. The term "redlining" was coined in the late 1960s by John McKnight, a...
, planned shrinkage
Planned shrinkage
Planned shrinkage is a public policy, practiced most notably in the 1970s in New York City, of withdrawing essential city services from neighborhoods suffering from urban decay, crime, and poverty so that neighborhoods may be claimed by outside interests for new development...
, and withdrawal of city services such as garbage collection
Waste collection
Waste collection is the component of waste management which results in the passage of a waste material from the source of production to either the point of treatment or final disposal...
. Police and fire protection of the housing stock in these areas dwindled both in size and quality. In areas such as North Philadelphia, West Philadelphia
West Philadelphia
West Philadelphia, nicknamed West Philly, is a section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Though there is no official definition of its boundaries, it is generally considered to reach from the western shore of the Schuylkill River, to City Line Avenue to the northwest, Cobbs Creek to the southwest, and...
, the South Bronx
South Bronx
The South Bronx is an area of the New York City borough of The Bronx. The neighborhoods of Tremont, University Heights, Highbridge, Morrisania, Soundview, Hunts Point, and Castle Hill are sometimes considered part of the South Bronx....
, Brownsville, Brooklyn
Brownsville, Brooklyn
Brownsville is a residential neighborhood located in eastern Brooklyn, New York City.The total land area is one square mile, and the ZIP code for the neighborhood is 11212....
, South Jamaica, Queens
South Jamaica, Queens
South Jamaica, known colloquially as Southside & Southside Jamaica Queens, is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens, located south of downtown Jamaica, the Long Island Rail Road tracks Jamaica Avenue and Liberty Avenue. The western border is the Van Wyck Expressway, and it...
and Flushing, Queens
Flushing, Queens
Flushing, founded in 1645, is a neighborhood in the north central part of the City of New York borough of Queens, east of Manhattan.Flushing was one of the first Dutch settlements on Long Island. Today, it is one of the largest and most diverse neighborhoods in New York City...
thousands of fires left entire blocks blighted.
City agencies picked these same neighborhoods as sites for drug rehabilitation
Drug rehabilitation
Drug rehabilitation is a term for the processes of medical or psychotherapeutic treatment, for dependency on psychoactive substances such as alcohol, prescription drugs, and so-called street drugs such as cocaine, heroin or amphetamines...
centers, homeless shelters, and public housing
Public housing
Public housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is owned by a government authority, which may be central or local. Social housing is an umbrella term referring to rental housing which may be owned and managed by the state, by non-profit organizations, or by a combination of the...
, leading to an increase in the proportion of poor and needy people in areas with dwindling middle-class populations.
The strongest economy in some neighborhoods became the Illegal drug trade
Illegal drug trade
The illegal drug trade is a global black market, dedicated to cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale of those substances which are subject to drug prohibition laws. Most jurisdictions prohibit trade, except under license, of many types of drugs by drug prohibition laws.A UN report said the...
, much to the chagrin of the few remaining community organizations. Abandoned buildings ravaged by arson or neglect formed perfect outposts for drug dealers since they were free, obscure, secluded and there would be no paper trail in the form of rent receipts. The sale of illegal drugs drew other kinds of violent crime to these neighborhoods further exacerbating the exodus of residents.
In some cases enraged citizens have burned crack houses to the ground, in hopes that by destroying the sites for drug operations they might also drive the problematic illegal industries from their neighborhoods.
Many major American inner cities contain crack houses.
In the United Kingdom
Strong legislation in EnglandEngland
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
provides a mechanism for police and local authorities to close crack houses which have been associated with disorder or serious nuisance. Often, these crack houses have been found in social housing, which has been taken over by drug dealers and users.
Laws such as the crack house closure order were designed to disrupt Class A drug dealing and anecdotal evidence suggests that it mainly affects socially housed tenants. The effect is that once an order is made, the premises are boarded up, and no one may enter the premises, initially for a period of three months, but this can be extended to six months on the application of the police.
In popular culture
Crack houses have been a subject widely used in hip hopHip hop
Hip hop is a form of musical expression and artistic culture that originated in African-American and Latino communities during the 1970s in New York City, specifically the Bronx. DJ Afrika Bambaataa outlined the four pillars of hip hop culture: MCing, DJing, breaking and graffiti writing...
music and films such as Crack House and the Taj Mahal sequence in Spike Lee's
Spike Lee
Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee is an American film director, producer, writer, and actor. His production company, 40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks, has produced over 35 films since 1983....
film Jungle Fever
Jungle Fever
Jungle Fever is a 1991 American drama film directed by Spike Lee, starring Wesley Snipes and Annabella Sciorra. It was Lee's fifth feature-length film. The film mainly explores interracial relationships...
.
See also
- Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003The Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which almost entirely applies only to England and Wales. The Act, championed by then Home Secretary, David Blunkett, was passed in 2003...
- Clandestine chemistryClandestine chemistryClandestine chemistry is chemistry carried out in secret, and particularly in illegal drug laboratories. Larger labs are usually run by gangs or organized crime intending to produce for distribution on the black market...
- Opium denOpium denAn opium den was an establishment where opium was sold and smoked. Opium dens were prevalent in many parts of the world in the 19th century, most notably China, Southeast Asia, North America and France...
- Rolling meth labRolling meth labA rolling meth lab is a transportable laboratory used for the illegal production of methamphetamine. Rolling meth labs are often readily moved to a secluded location to be unpacked to synthesize the drug, such as in a public park, or sometimes set up to render the drug while the lab is traveling...