James Patrick

Who is James Patrick?

James Patrick is the pseudonym of a Scottish sociologist, which he used to publish a book A Glasgow Gang Observed. It attracted some attention in Scotland when it was published in 1973. It was based on research he had done in 1966, when he was aged 26.

At that time he was working as a teacher in an Approved School, a Scottish reformatory. One gang member in the school, "Tim Malloy", agreed to infiltrate him into his gang in Maryhill in Glasgow. Patrick spent four months as a gang member, observing their behaviour.

A Glasgow Gang Observed was re-published by Neil Wilson Publishing in 2012, without updating or addition, except a brief note that after strenuous efforts the publishers had been unable to trace the author, if he or his representatives wished to contact him they could enter discussions.