Johanne Miller, PhD Student UWSSupervised by: Professor Chris Holligan,

Professor Ross Deuchar & Paula Cowan

Cameron UK May Look to US for Gang

Advice SaveYouTube com.mpg You tube link

David Cameron highlighted several points about gangs in Britain. He states they are:

Hierarchical Lead criminal careers Have leadership Are an organised entity Are damaging to society Are inherently criminalOutside help required

Eurogang Definition

A youth gang or troublesome youth

group, is an durable street oriented

youth group whose involvement in

illegal activity is part of their group

identity.

Bill Braxton, Boston Initiative Community Initiative to Reduce Violence (CIRV) model

being replicated (Home Office 2011)

Theresa May: We will identify 30 areas for which £10 million from the Home Office will be available next year... I can confirm that we were making a further £10 million available next year for the early intervention fund... The Government have also introduced gang injunctions, which enable local authorities and the police to tackle over-18s involved in gang-related violence by banning them from meeting other gang members, wearing gang colours, hanging around in certain locations and owning dangerous dogs. We are looking to extend that tool to 14 to 17-year-olds. (Hansard 2011)

Human Right: Article 11: Association

Human Right: Article 14: Discrimination

Social commentators blamed street based, youth gangs for riots

Gang Talk & Gang Talkers (Hallsworth & Young 2004)

Policies released in aftermath of riots to suppress the „new social problem‟ of gangs

Home Office (2011) pledge £12 million to suppress gangs in 2012

Ignorance of other factors: No race / bread riots

Age Range of defendants: 51% 10-20 yrs

49% 20- 50 yrs

Area % Population

of City(Census

2001)

Court

Defendants (Ministry of Justice

2011)

% Population

of City(Census

2001)

Court

Defendants (Ministry of Justice

2011)

London 71% White 33% White 28.9% BME 77% BME

West

Midlands

76.5% White 41% White 23.5% BME 69%BME

Nottingham 81.6% White 37%White 18.4% BME 63%BME

Manchester 91% White 74%White 9% BME 26%BME

It was concluded gangs are not

behind the riots (Ministry of Justice 2011)

The objects of desire, whose absence is most violently resented, are

nowadays many and varied – and their numbers, as well as the temptation

to have them, grow by the day. And so grows the wrath, humiliation, spite

and grudge aroused by not having them – as well as the urge to destroy

what you can‟t have. Looting shops and setting them on fire derive from the

same impulsion and gratify the same longing (Bauman 2011)

Lack of empirical evidence to support a definition of what a gang is in Britain (Bennet &

Holloway 2004)

Different cities produce different types of gangs (Pitts 2008) Lambeth (Pitts 2007) West & East Coast Scotland (Bannister et al 2010)

Each man, finally, outside of his professional activity, carries on some

form of intellectual activity, that is he is a ‘philosopher’, an artist, a man

of taste, he participates in a particular conception of the world, has a

conscious line of moral conduct, and therefore contributes to sustain a

conception of the world or to modify it, that is to bring into being new

modes of thought. Gramsci (1973:9)

Misrepresentation of the problem Self defining surveys used as main indicator of

gang prevalence in Scotland and England Young people have a different understanding of

the concept resulting in misrepresentation of the problem

Misinformed policies and interventions Labelling practices associated with gang name

The least restrictive definition includes all youth who claim gang membership at

some point in time. The most restrictive definition includes only those youth who

are current core gang members who indicate that their gang has some degree of

organizational structure and whose members are involved in illegal activities.

(Esbensen, Winfree, He, & Taylor 2001:105)

North

27%

East

16%West

14%South

East

6%

South

West

37%

Area Coverage

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

Survey

Particpants

Gang

Member

Interviews

Practitioners nu of Gangs

worked with

Participants

Nu worked with

Age Range of Participants: 10-22. Core Members 70% Fringe Members 30%

Practitioner Sample consists of: Education, Police Force, Gangs Task

Force, CIRV, Youth Workers

1. Create a definition of a Glasgow gang.

2. 2. Explore Glasgow gang culture

3. 3. Place the concept of gangs back within the context of youth studies

Survey says yes: We say no

Q43: Do you think a gang needs to be criminal to be called a

gang? 71.9% answered NO!Eurogang Definition: A youth gang or troublesome youth group, is an durable street oriented

youth group whose involvement in illegal activity is part of their group identity.

Eurogang Core Gang

Descriptors

% Yes % No Age

Range

12-15

Age Range

16-19

Age Range

19-25

Years

0-1

Years

1-10

Years

11-20

Years

20+

Do you have group of

friends you spend time

with

95% 5%

Age Group 5.8% 62.2% 27%

Time Spent in Public

Places

85.7% 14.3%

How long has group

Existed

9.1% 18.2% 12.1% 60.6%

Is doing illegal things

okay with your group

83.3% 16.7%

Does your group do

illegal things together

84.4% 13.3%

Do you consider your

group to be a gang?

89.2% 10.8%

When supplemented with interviews there is an extra

level of analysis

Q43: Do you think a gang needs to be criminal to be

called a gang? 71.9% answered NO

Removal of criminal aspect means the gang label can

be applied to most youth groups

When asked what criminal behaviour was:

Drinking Hangin aboot on the street Smokin weed

Fightin Gettin chases Gettin MWI

Bein rowdy in the street takin eccy

.

A wee bit.

Yes? In what way?

I don‟t know.

What would you think

criminal behaviour is?

Smashing windows, fighting,

shouting and that.

No, not really.

Why?

Because you can still be called a

gang and be a non. ...

And not do criminal things?

Aye

What would you call criminal

behaviour?

Fighting and I don‟t know

No, not really.

Responses to Survey Q43:

Do you think a gang needs to be

criminal to be called a gang?

71.9% answered NO

No.

No? How come?

I don‟t know. You could just

be a bunch of pals.

Maybe some of the gangs in America, it‟s more related to organised crime

gangs than it is maybe here. But the gangs we‟ve have at the level that

we‟re talking about isn‟t merely the organised crime level. So maybe the

ones in America are more higher level than the ones here. (Community

Police)

They sabre rattle at each other for half an hour. That‟s a recreation. You

hear about that a lot. They do it for the buzz. They do it for that. That, I

think, from my poorly educated perspective, reinforces the fact it‟s

recreational. “How do I get my kicks?” That‟s where they get them from.

It‟s certainly not about criminality. (CIRV)

It‟s not the same here as it is other places. I mean, it‟s young boys who

have a belief they need to protect their scheme. Their not involved in

drug rackets or organised crime or anything like that. Do not get me

wrong the violence associated with it is horrific but it‟s not organised

crime, there‟s no any careers or money in it for them. The Jack‟s, Tigers

(Criminal Families) n that are the ones that run these things in Glasgow.

(Youth worker)

I don‟t think they have leaders in terms of the American gangs;

they‟ve got a structure almost military – Lieutenants and Generals,

they‟ve all got that. I don‟t think there‟s the same kind of leadership.

As I say, there‟ll be one or two key members, (CIRV Education

Worker)

Leaders? (laughter) They dinnnae have leaders. Ye‟ll get the mair mental

yans that will wanna start fights cause they‟re ragin bout some‟ing bad in

their lives. The other wans will go along wae it caus they feel bad for them

or their scared ae gettin a kickin but that‟s as far as it goes. Maybe

sometimes wans mair involved n has like mair street cred so they will

listen tae him mair but thats just group dynamics innit. It‟s no the leader ae

the gang (laughter). (Youth Worker)

Responses Percentage Actual Responses

Group of Friends hanging about

together

44.4% Group ae pals. Group of friends

hanging about together. A Group of

Friends. Group of people that hang

about together. The troopz. The

troops doing what we do best. Group

ae pals. Neds, Wino hang about in a

team.

Group of people protecting

territory

25.2% Young boys that protect their scheme.

A group of people that protect their

territory. Group of people that hang

about a territory.

A group of people who want to

cause trouble or fight

25.2% Bunch of boys trying to make a name

for themselves. A group hanging

around together maybe doing wrong

things. Large group of thugz

Your Life & protection 4.6% Your life. Pals, back up.

This has important consequences: 89.2% claim gang membership. Gang

membership to the majority is a group of friends hanging around

together. THEY DO NOT need to be involved in group criminal behaviour.

I – What do you think a gang is? Large group of males large group of...

P5 – Young boys that protect yer scheme [laughs]

P1 – Is that what you think it is?

P3 – Obviously (survey)this is gangs in American and there are nae schemes in America (Alan)

Just people trying to… It‟s basically fighting – that‟s all it is. Just a group

of boys, just jumping about, drinking, and if other people come in to

their scheme, they don‟t let them in, and they‟ll try to fight, normally, to

get them out.

Why do they start? D’ya know wit a mean? Wit are they? wit are gangs?

Dunno, it happens all the time like. When yer a wee guy ye‟ll see the older wans fae

you drinking havin a good time n aw that. N you hink you wana dae that so you n aw

your pals become the new generation. Then it just keeps going. That‟s the way every

wee guy in Glasgae probably thinks noo. (Russell)

.

N17: Aye, scheme name

I: Whats that based on?

N17: Dont know, its always been like that

I: Has it always been like that yeah?

N17: Aye

I: And you’s just adopted it?

N17: Aye, its always been MYT

I: And does your mum and that, older brothers and

say, cousins, do they still say they’re Mintown

N17: Front end and back end, the whole scheme is MYT

I: The full scheme? It just stays? That never just changes

N17: Naw (John)

.

StructureEthnicity 96% White 4% BME

Gender 88% Male 12% Female

Age Range:13-22 years old

Members: Between 10-59

Existed :11-20 years 10.5%

More than 20 years 57.9%

Definition

A regenerating group of young (typically) men aged 10-25.

The groups originate in low income, urbanised areas. They

are bound by territory and engage in violent offending

with other territorial groups. The territory will have a name

and symbol attached to it.

LAMBETH GANGS WALTHAM FOREST

Ethnicity: Predominantly

BME composition

Gender: Unknown

Average Age: 10-25

Length: Unknown

Amount: 45

Gangs linked with criminal

organisations(Lambeth Chairs Report 2008 & Pitts 2007)

Ethnicity: Predominantly

made up of BME

Gender Mostly Male

Average Age: 12-25

Length: Less than 10 years

Amount: 11 gangs (London street

gangs,com)

Most gangs linked with the

criminal drug market(Pitts 2007)

What is happening to our young people? They disrespect their elders, they disobey their parents. They ignore the law. They riot in the streets inflamed with wild notions. Their morals are decaying. What is to become of them?

(Plato, 4th Century BC)

Bannister, J, Pickering, J Batchelor, S, Burman, M Kintrea, K, McVie, S. (2010) Troublesome Youth Groups, Gangs and Knife Crime in Scotland.

Bennett, T and Holloway, K. Gang Membership, Drugs and Crime in the UK,” British Journal of Criminology 44, no. 3 (2004): p.317 Report for The Scottish Government

Chairs report (2008) London Borough of Lambeth Gangs Executive Commission Report [Online Resource] Available from:

Esbensen, F. Winfree, Jr, T. He, N. Taylor, J (2001) Youth Gangs and Definitional Issues: When Is a Gang a Gang, and Why Does It Matter? Crime & Delinquency 47:1

Gramsci, A (1973) Selections from the Prison Notebooks (ed & trans. Hoare, Q and Nowell Smith, G) London. Laurence & Wishart

Hallsworth S. & Young T. (2004) Getting Real About Gangs, Criminal Justice matters 55 12-13

Home Office (2011) Ending Gang and Youth Violence: A Cross Government Report including further evidence and good practice case studies. UK Stationary Office Ltd

Ministry of Justice (2011) Pitts, J. (2007). Reluctant gangsters: youth gangs in Waltham Forest. University of

Bedfordshire. Pitts, J (2007) Young & Safe in Lambeth The Deliberations of the Executive

Commission on Young People & Violent Crime