What Evidence is There that Gangs Akin to Those Identified in the US Exist in UK - Essay Example

? What evidence is there that gangs akin to those identified in the US exist in UK? What evidence is there that gangs akin to those identified in theUS exist in UK? A group of individuals with a common identity, formed for some specific purposes or activities is usually referred as a gang. In most of the cases, gang activities are antisocial in nature. Some of the most infamous gangs existed at different parts of the world in the past were Muslim Assassins, Adam the Leper 's gang, Indian Thugs, Chinese Triads, Japanese Yakuza, American Old West outlaw gangs and Italian Mafia crime families. Gang formation and their activities are big headaches to many countries and the cases of United States and UK are not an exception. Even though these countries are believed to be the most civilized and wealthy countries in the world, gang activities are common there. Plenty of infamous and notorious gangs were existed and still existing in America. In the 19 th century, America was troubled heavily by gagsters like The James Gang, Billy the Kid, Whyos, Dead Rabbits, Plug Uglies, Monk Eastman Gang, Five Points Gang etc. During the latter parts of gangs such as Latin Kings, Savage Skulls, La Familia, Savage Nomads, Rampers and Vice Lords were formed in America. Most of these gangs engaged in violent activities which caused lots of headaches to the American government In short, America’s history of gang formulation and gang activities was well documented and proved beyond any doubts. However, the cases of UK are different. Since the news about gang formulation and its activities from UK are small in number, many people have the illusion that UK is comparatively free from the headaches of gang activities. However, some of the recent researches have proved that gangs are hyperactive in UK also same way like America. This paper critically analyses the claims and evidences of recent empirical researches which claims that gangs akin to those identified in the US exist in UK? Gang history in UK The first active gangs in Western civilization were reported in England during the 17th century. These gangs were engaged in highway robbery mainly. It is believed that similar gangs might well have existed as early as the 14th or even the 12th century in UK. However, these gangs were not much organized like the modern day gangs. More structured gangs did appear from the early 1600s, when London was “terrorized by a series of organized gangs calling themselves the Mims, Hectors, Bugles, Dead Boys … who found amusement in breaking windows, [and] demolishing taverns, [and they] also fought pitched battles among themselves dressed with coloured ribbons to distinguish the different factions (Howell & Moore, 2010, p.1). These evidences clearly suggest that gangs existed in UK just like other countries in the past. The histories of these notorious gangs were well documented by different scholars. However, the news about the activities or formation of modern day gangs in UK are small in number. It doesn’t mean that modern day UK is comparatively free from the headaches of gang operations. Many studies have proved that Gang-related organized crime in Britain is mainly concentrated around the cities of London, Manchester and Liverpool. Northern regions and coastal areas of England are the mainstays of modern day gangsters in UK. It is estimated that more than 65% of the firearm homicides in England are related to gang activities. Recent researches which prove gang activities in UK GAS gang - based in Brixton, south London has caught the media headlines recently for their antisocial activities like killing and robbery. According to BBC News correspondent Andrew Hosken, At least six killings have been linked to GAS in recent years and, in the last 12 months alone, eight suspected members have been jailed for murder or attempted murder. Earlier this year, three GAS members were jailed for life for one of the worst gang-related crimes in recent years. Nathaniel Grant, Kazeem Kolawole and Anthony McCalla were sentenced to minimum jail terms of between 14 and 17 years each for the attempted murder of a rival gang member and grievous bodily harm in a deadly attack which left a five-year-old girl paralysed from the waist down. Thusha Kamaleswaran was shot in the chest during the attack while she played in the aisle of her father's shop in Stockwell Road (Hosken, 2012). GAS is one of the most recently forms gangs in UK. It was established around four years before and its operations are based in and around Angell Town in Brixton. Most of the members of GAS are teenagers and they call themselves as "Tinies" Nobody knows for what reason this gang was formed or what are the demands of these gangs. In other words, this gang is not much organized even though they are engaged in occasional antisocial activities. It is believed that GAS gang has strength of around 50 members. “GAS is currently "at war" with three other local gangs: ABM (All Bout Money) in Stockwell; TN1 (Tell No-one) in Tulse Hill; and the Peckham Young Guns across the borough borders into Southwark” (Hosken, 2012). Geoffrey Wansell has reported for daily mail on 23 June 2007 that “Curtis Warren, one of Britain's richest gangsters - a former drug baron with an illegal fortune estimated to exceed ?100 million - was returning to Britain after almost 11 years in a Dutch jail - and he could be out to reclaim his empire” (Wansell, 2008). One of the major problems associated with British criminal justice system is the lack of monitoring of the activities of former criminals. As in the case of many other gangsters in Britain, Geoffrey Wansell was also acted like a gentleman after his return from Dutch jail. Police might think that Geoffrey Wansell has already transformed from gangster to a gentleman and hence it is unnecessary to monitor his activities. However, nobody can rule out the possibilities of warren returning to his old habits. One of the most important characteristics of gangsters is the fact that it is difficult for them to lead a normal life even after stronger punishments. Prison life might be a familiar routine for them and they may lose any fear of that. Steven Gerrard is one of the most famous British celebrities of modern times. He is not only the captain of English football team, but also the captain of British soccer club Liverpool. Even Gerrard is not free from the threats of notorious British gangs. One of the recent reports showed that some gangsters are threatening Gerard for money. In a letter read to the jury: Gerrard’s father Paul said of the threats: “This went on for a long time, during which Steven’s car was smashed up and the gangster chased him while he was driving home from training. Liverpool FC provided security for Steven, but the threats kept coming.” (Harvey, 2008). If Steven Gerrard like a celebrity is not free from the threats of gangs, how can one would argue that gang activities are less in Britain. It should be noted that gangsters often target prominent celebrities to seize money. Celebrities often settle the threats over their life from gangsters by paying money to them. They may not report such threats in most of the cases to avoid further problems. Dr. Andrew Davies has written a book called The Gangs of Manchester: The Story of the Scuttlers after years of research in the company of gangsters from Manchester to London. His book reveals many important facts regarding youth crimes and gang activities in England. Some of the major findings of this book are given below. In Liverpool, gangs were often motivated by robbery, carried out by way of a more vicious version of Fagin's pickpockets in Oliver Twist. But in Manchester, the motive was testosterone-fuelled excitement and a hunt for status. Each gang wanted to be recognized as the toughest in the city, and scuttlers would walk as far as five miles to take on rivals. Groups took possession of their favorite music halls and attacked any members of other gangs who came in, using sharpened belt buckles or knives as weapons. One major difference from today's youth violence was that deaths were very rare. But the level of serious wounding - and the sheer number of young teenagers filling the newly-built Strange ways prison and other jails - led Manchester city council to petition the then home secretary for the return of flogging to punish violent crime (Wainwright, 2008). It should be noted that most of these gang members are teenagers and hence their activities are often linked with heroism and aggression. Teenagers usually experience joy when they engage in some heroic acts. Most of the current medias are filled with programs of adventurism and aggression. For example, in majority of the modern day films, it is portrayed as the hero fights against injustices. Teenagers might believe that many of the things happening around them are symbols of injustices and it should be opposed at any cost. It is difficult for teenage gangsters to think about the consequences of their action. “Crime narratives and representations are a prominent part of the content of all mass media with sources such as newspapers and television documentaries playing ‘a central role in creating public perceptions of crime” (Cox, 2011, p.13) “The ‘modern gang’ unlike subcultures in the past, is not just a stage that will pass and that they are not simply based on style or musical preference. Instead, they are the products of deprivation and marginalisation”(Cox, 2011, p.10). Unemployment among teenagers is a big problem everywhere in the world and the case of UK is also not an exception. In fact recent recession caused lot of problems in UK compared to other countries. Even though America like countries are showing signs of a revival, UK has not showed any signs of revival yet. Thousands of people in UK have either lost their jobs or faced salary cuts. Moreover, the job opportunities for teenagers or youth are getting decreased because of the dip in UK economic growth. All these factors contribute in one way or another for the formation of street gangs. In the past, British youth subculture has come to denote a national social movement of teenagers and young people who share a common set of values, interests and tacit ideology but not necessarily dependant on face-to-face interaction with other members or with any rigid criteria of entry, membership or obligation whereas, in contemporary society, gang culture is generally ‘characterised by criminality, durability, territoriality, structure and.... conflict (Cox, 2011, p.11). Morals and ethics are rapidly diminishing from British society because of the dipping popularity of religions in British community. It should not be forgotten that religions were the saviours of morals and ideals in the past; however, the case is entirely different. Even some prominent religious leaders were recently caught for illegal or immoral activities. Thus many people have lost their faith in religions which contributed heavily to the formation of gangs. Same sex marriages, lesbianism, gayism etc are deriving huge popularity nowadays because of the dipping popularity of religion. Commercialization is ruling the current world. Current people have a tendency to weigh the importance of an activity based the profit it generate rather than the value it creates. In other words, all activities which generate profits are considered legitimate in whereas activities which generate losses are illegitimate this world. These changes in life philosophies and life styles are contributing heavily to gang formation in Britain. Statistics released by the UK governmental agencies and the media show that gang activities in UK are extremely small compared to that countries such as America. However, “Critical criminologists state that ‘crime rates are far from being a perfect measure of the actual amount of criminality in society”(Cox, 2011, p.14). In fact the unreported crimes are more than the reported crimes in many countries. A layman may always try to stay away from reporting the crime because of his awareness about the consequences. Gangsters have the habit of attacking people who made complaint against them. So, simple incidents are often neglected by the ordinary people and hence many of the gang crimes occurred in British society may not come to the notice of the authorities and media. Moreover, the lack of standard definition for gang activities also contributes heavily to the under-reporting of gang crimes. Across the M6 in north Manchester, gang chief Desmond “Dessie” Noonan, 46, told a TV documentary crew: “No one would dare touch us anyway. “If they did there would be serious fireworks. I’ve got a bigger army than the police. I’ve got more guns than the police.” A leading member of a notorious crime family, Noonan, 46, had a reputation as an enforcer and had been linked to dozens of armed robberies and several murders. He added: “We’re strong and we’ve got strong people around us. “People know that. If they think they can take one of us out and that’s the end of it, then they’re silly people, f***ing silly people” (Oliver, 2008). It is evident from the words of Noonan that ordinary people in Britain are fearing gangsters very much. However they are not ready to report the threats to the criminal agencies because of their fear of consequences. In many cases, gang force would be more than that of the police force. It should be noted that British police do not have proper awareness about the actual strength of most of the gangs since gang members are usually stay in anonymity. Only when required, gang members come to the surface and execute their mission. In all the other times, they may be hidden in deep into the water. Moreover, gang members often appear as gentlemen in public eyes. It is difficult for the general public to identify the gangsters and normal people since gangsters often try to behave normally like the ordinary people. As in the case of normal people, gangsters also use social networks quite regularly to communicate with their fellow members or to threaten their enemies. “Colin Gunn, an underworld godfather who ordered the execution of two grandparents, has been able to correspond freely with up to 565 “friends” on the social networking site for the past two months” (Notorious U.K. Gangster Running Empire on Facebook From Jail, 2010). The above incident clearly suggests that gang operations are quiet common in Britain just like in America. Limitations of researches in UK to prove gang presence in UK Even though in America like western countries, researches about gang operations and youth violence are researched quite frequently, the cases of UK are entirely different. UK sociologists seem to be giving less importance to gang operations and youth violence in UK. In their opinion, UK is comparatively less affected country as far as youth violence is concerned. However, the statistics show that this is not the case. Cox (2011) argued that “youth gangs do exist in the UK, however, due to gaps in research and a lack of reliable empirical evidence, along with the influence of the media’s involvement; it is found that government responses are failing to address the needs of youths involved in gangs” (Cox, 2011, p.i). Like male gangsters, female gangsters also exist in many countries. “However, due to their being little gang research on the whole in the UK, research into the phenomena of the girl gang in the UK is also very limited, therefore it is difficult to identify the true extent of the problem”(Cox, 2011, p.13). It should not be forgotten that UK women are liberal and courageous and changing life styles like same sex marriages, staying together etc are prominent among them. If these women are courageous enough to engage in such life styles, it is illogical to believe that they are staying away from gang formation like activities. As in the case of male gangs in UK, researches conducted to learn more about female gangsters in UK, is also little in number. So, it is difficult to argue that female gangs not at all existing in UK. The research by The Centre for Social Justice (2009) found that, ‘Leicester, due to its close proximity to Birmingham and Nottingham, was seeing the development of gangs, with one major gang but around 20 ‘crews’’. As ‘crews’ did not fit in with their definition of a ‘gang’ their presence is indicative of a wider trend in which young people are forming delinquent youth groups and engaging in anti-social behaviour and violence. However, if further research was to be conducted by researchers using a different definition, it can be proved that these ‘crews’ were in fact gangs (Cox, 2011, p.14) Limitations of standard definitions for gangs and gang activities are the major reason for the widespread myth that UK is less affected by gangsters in recent times. Many of the gang activities in UK are labeled as ordinary criminal activities by the media and authorities. Thus, gangsters are often succeeded in staying behind the curtain all the time. In order to bring them to the lime lights of law and order, UK needs to implement a standard definition for gangs and gang activities in its penal code. Conclusions UK is not at all free from gang activities. Like American society, gangs are highly operational in the contemporary UK society. However, the lack of standard definition and the underreporting of gang activities helped UK gangsters to stay behind the curtains most of the times. Majority of the UK gangs are operated by the teenagers. Even though many of these gangs do not have an organized structure, they are not behind any other gangsters in other countries, as far as criminal activities are concerned. UK sociologists seem to be less interested in researching more about gangs in UK. Even though terrorism and counter terrorism measures are widely discussed in UK, gang activities are often staying behind the curtains. It is necessary to investigate more about UK gang activities by the sociologists and UK government authorities. References Cox, A. (2011). Youth gangs in the uk: myth or reality? Internet Journal of Criminology. Retrieved from http://www.internetjournalofcriminology.com/Cox_Youth_Gangs_in_the_UK_Myth_or_Reality_IJC_September_2011.pdf Harvey, O. (2008). Underworld of our gangsters. The Sun. 12th April 2008. Retrieved from http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/justice/1032680/Criminal-underworld-Britains-biggest-gangsters-Chilling-reality.html Howell, J.C.& Moore, J.P. (2010), History Of Street Gangs In The United States. National Gang Centre Bulletin. No.4 May 2010. Retrieved from http://www.nationalgangcenter.gov/Content/Documents/History-of-Street-Gangs.pdf Hosken, A. (2012). The rise and fall of Brixton's GAS gang. BBC NEWS. 12 June 2012. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-18398190 Notorious U.K. Gangster Running Empire on Facebook From Jail. (2010). Retrieved from http://current.com/technology/92038604_notorious-u-k-gangster-running-empire-on-facebook-from-jail.htm Wainwright, M. (2008). Meet the historical hoodies. The Guardian. Wednesday 22 October 2008. Retrieved from http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2008/oct/22/hoodies-victorian-manchester-gangs Wansell, G. (2008). Britain's most successful gangster is out of prison and seems intent on reclaiming his empire. Daily mail 23 June 2007. Retrieved from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-463801/Britains-successful-gangster-prison-intent-reclaiming-empire.html#ixzz23JFCtuNa Read More