COGNITIVE BRIDGES - THE CASE OF HIGH-SCHOOL UNDERCOVER OFFICERS

This article explores the problem of social integration from a positio n of isolation. It uses the experiences of high school undercover offi cers to consider the problem conceptually. Officers must move from new student to peer to drug purchaser without any informant assistance an d with severe time constraints. Three specific techniques are used to trigger this process: class clowning, retreatism, and troublemaking. E ach is a variation on the single theme of rebellion. I argue that thes e techniques generate interpersonal familiarity a from a distance by c reating reputations that drug dealers identify with and vest legitimac y in. Reputation substitutes for introductions informants could otherw ise give, establishes a pretransaction comfort zone, and lays the inte rpersonal groundwork officers need before they can solicit drugs. Offi cers' behavior is conceptualized through the notion of a cognitive bri dge, a hybrid of interactionist and microstructural principles. Data a re drawn from interviews with thirty undercover officers who operate f rom a large western U.S. municipality.