Intimacy with outlaws - The role of relational distance in recruiting, paying, and interviewing underworld research participants

The past quarter century has witnessed the emergence of a substantial literature devoted to the mechanics of recruiting, paying, and interviewing currently active offenders. Absent from that literature, however, is a theoretical framework within which to understand, test, modify, and further develop efforts to locate such offenders and gain their cooperation. This note, based on the authors' research with active drug sellers in Atlanta and St. Louis, explores the ways in which relational distance, that is, the nature and degree of intimacy between recruiter, interviewee, and researcher, affects the behavior of active offender research. The note concludes with theoretically situated, practical advice for ( 1) recruiting active criminals, ( 2) cost containment, and ( 3) maximizing the quantity and validity of data produced in interviews.