amagent

plural amagents · alternative ma-gent

1. South AfricaA young male criminal gang member.

   In the amagents' telling, police regularly accept bribes to overlook the crimes or drop the charges against the amagents.

   1998, Crime and Conflict (issues 13-22, page 26)

   2 more examples

   Young black men who are engaged in crime — or amagents as they are popularly known in townships — told interviewers that violent and broken homes and poverty were the two key factors that had influenced their decision to become involved […]

   2002, Mark Shaw, Crime and Policing in Post-apartheid South Africa, page 60

   Amagents may be defined as young men who tend to regard themselves as streetwise and may be involved in petty or serious criminal activity.

   2011, Chris Blazina, David S. Shen-Miller, An International Psychology of Men, page 29