Gangs in the United Kingdom#Glasgow

The Factory Act 1833 regulated child labour in the UK:{{Citation|title=Factory Acts|date=2020-03-13|url=https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Factory_Acts&oldid=945439587|work=Wikipedia|language=en|access-date=2020-03-27}} children could no longer work in factories.{{Cite book|last=Humphries|first=Stephen|title=Hooligans or Rebels? An Oral History of Working-Class Childhood and Youth 1889-1939|publisher=Basil Blackwell Inc.|year=1981|location=New York|pages=28–41}} Children were now spending more time on the streets while the rest of their families went to work all day. The lack of an extra stable source of income for families led to an increase in petty crimes among working-class youths in the late 19th century.{{Cite book|last=Humphries|first=Stephen|title=Hooligans or Rebels? An Oral History of Working-Class Childhood and Youth 1889-1939|publisher=Basil Blackwell Inc.|year=1981|location=New York|pages=121–122}} As children spent more time with siblings and neighbours on the street, pranks became commonplace and were viewed as devious attempts to outsmart authority. Along with pranking, petty crime among older teenagers was also on the rise.{{Cite book|last=Humphries|first=Stephen|title=Hooligans or Rebels? An Oral History of Working-Class Childhood and Youth 1889-1939|publisher=Basil Blackwell Inc.|year=1981|location=New York|pages=150–156}}

Because older teenagers could not earn enough money to support their families, especially in the absence of one parent—which was common—many resorted to stealing.{{Cite book|last=Humphries|first=Stephen|title=Hooligan or Rebels? An Oral History of Working-Class Childhood and Youth 1889-1930|publisher=Basil Blackwell Inc.|year=1981|location=New York|pages=151}} Food and cigarettes were the most common forms of property that were stolen in the late 19th century. These small crimes and this culture of pranks added to the underlying resistance to authority that existed among working-class youths who had no other outlets to control their environment.

The early groups in the 1840s were family oriented and were typically composed of brothers, sisters, and neighbours. While petty crime rose everywhere during the 19th century in England, individual crimes differed from city-to-city and even persisted in rural areas. Gangs were not unique to deprived areas, and many arose in many working-class towns that were flourishing from trade.{{Cite journal|last=Davies|first=Andrew|date=Winter 1998|title=Youth Gangs, Masculinity and Violence in Late Victorian Manchester and Salford|journal=Journal of Social History|volume=32|issue=2|pages=349–369|doi=10.1353/jsh/32.2.349|jstor=3789665}} Early forms of gangs were based upon territory and locality rather than certain ethnic or religious affiliations, which tended to be the defining characteristics of gangs in the early 20th century.{{Cite journal|last=Davies|first=Andrew|date=Winter 1998|title=Youth Gangs, Masculinity and Violence in Late Victorian Manchester and Salford|journal=Journal of Social History|volume=32|issue=2|pages=351–352|doi=10.1353/jsh/32.2.349|jstor=3789665}}

Many of the names of early British gangs included titles of local areas and streets, such as the Bengal Tigers who originated from Bengal Street in Manchester. The idea of “hooliganism” was used to describe these type of crimes committed by working-class youth, and drew great concern from the press and middle class during this time.{{Cite book|last=Humphries|first=Stephen|title=Hooligans or Rebels? An Oral History of Working-Class Childhood and Youth 1889-1939|publisher=Basil Blackwell Inc.|year=1981|location=New York|pages=174–178}} "Scuttlers" was the specific term given to the perpetuators of these early, petty crimes.  These factions were not highly organised, and most people drifted in and out of membership. The early development of petty crime with groups forming an identity for themselves through names and clothes helped create the framework for more organised crime groups that gained great notoriety throughout the early 20th century.{{Cite book|last=Humphries|first=Stephen|title=Hooligans or Rebels? An Oral History of Working-Class Childhood and Youth 1889-1939|publisher=Basil Blackwell Inc.|year=1981|location=New York|pages=151–153}}

Northern Ireland had over 150 active criminal gangs in 2014.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-29499195|title=DUP: Northern Ireland has 'more than 140 crime gangs'|work=BBC News|date=6 October 2014|access-date=26 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161010020642/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-29499195|archive-date=10 October 2016|url-status=live}} In Belfast, there were estimated to be approximately 80 gangs in 2003,{{cite web|url=http://www.newsweek.com/gangs-belfast-140119|title=The Gangs Of Belfast|date=24 February 2003|work=newsweek.com|access-date=26 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180216182146/http://www.newsweek.com/gangs-belfast-140119|archive-date=16 February 2018|url-status=live}} most nominally sectarian, engaged in racketeering across the city.

An investigation in 2014 found that some gangs in Belfast were particularly hostile towards non-white residents of the city, with numerous cases of racially motivated violence, intimidation and extortion having been reported.{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2004/jan/10/northernireland.race|title=Racist war of the loyalist street gangs|first1=Angelique|last1=Chrisafis|date=9 January 2004|access-date=26 September 2016|work=The Guardian|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170207131639/https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2004/jan/10/northernireland.race|archive-date=7 February 2017|url-status=live}}

Gangs in Belfast have been involved in people smuggling and human trafficking. Although the vice industry was previously mostly on the street, in recent years it has moved indoors to residential homes and hotels and formed closer links to organised crime networks. Trafficking gangs in Belfast, as in the rest of Northern Ireland, tend to be of Chinese or Eastern European origin, utilising local people as facilitators in their network.{{cite web |url=http://www.octf.gov.uk/Organised-Crime-in-Northern-Ireland/Organised-Immigration-Crime.aspx |title=Corporate Site - Organised Immigration Crime |access-date=2015-03-22 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402094120/http://www.octf.gov.uk/Organised-Crime-in-Northern-Ireland/Organised-Immigration-Crime.aspx |archive-date=2015-04-02 }}

In 2014, three nights of violence in East Belfast led to the Police Federation for Northern Ireland stating: "The gang culture has to be broken up so that people can go about their business without fear of being struck by a missile or intimidated."{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-29822542|title=East Belfast attacks: PFNI says 'gang culture' must end|work=BBC News |date=29 October 2014|access-date=26 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160103052516/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-29822542|archive-date=3 January 2016|url-status=live}}

(See below for information about sectarian gangs in Northern Ireland associated with The Troubles)

The Peaky Blinders were a criminal gang based in Birmingham, England, in the late 19th century and, to a lesser extent, in the early 20th century. Philip Gooderson, author of The Gangs of Birmingham, states that the Peaky Blinders originated as a specific gang, but the term later became a generic label. An earlier gang known as the Cheapside Sloggers had evolved in the 1870s, and the term "Sloggers" (meaning fighters) had already become a generic local label for street gangs when the Peaky Blinders emerged at the end of the century in Adderley Street, in the Bordesley and Small Heath areas, which was an extremely deprived slum section of Birmingham at the time. The Peaky Blinders were distinguished by their sartorial style, unlike earlier gangs. Notable members included David Taylor (imprisoned for carrying a gun at 13 years old), "baby-faced" Harry Fowles, Ernest Haynes and Stephen McNickle.{{cite news|author=Larner, Tony|title=When Peaky Blinders Ruled Streets with Fear|work=Sunday Mercury|date= 1 August 2010|page= 14}}

Early in the 20th century, one of the Birmingham gangs known as the Brummagem Boys (Brummagem being slang for Birmingham) began to spread their criminal network from the streets of Birmingham to around the country. Helped by greatly improved transport, for the first time, regional gangs were able to expand beyond the streets that bred them. The new connecting railway between Birmingham and London meant they could target the racecourse riches of the country's capital.{{cite web|url=http://www.crimeandinvestigation.co.uk/crime-files/birmingham-gangs|title=Birmingham Gangs|date=13 February 2014|work=crimeandinvestigation.co.uk|access-date=26 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170110050954/http://crimeandinvestigation.co.uk/crime-files/birmingham-gangs|archive-date=10 January 2017|url-status=live}}

Following the Handsworth riots in 1985, young people banded together in groups which soon turned to petty crime and robbery. By the late 1980s, the Johnson Crew, named after their Johnsons Café hang-out, controlled the drugs market and nightclub security across a large area of Birmingham.{{citation needed|date=March 2021}}

After a fall-out between members of the Johnson Crew, the Burger Bar Boys formed, taking their name from a Soho Road fast-food joint. This began a violent feud between the Johnsons and the Burger Bar Boys, which was resolved in a truce instigated by Matthias "Shabba" Thompson in 2010, with assistance from documentary maker Penny Woolcock. The process of forming the truce was captured in the Channel 4 documentary, One Mile Away.{{cite web|url=http://www.channel4.com/programmes/one-mile-away/on-demand/52750-001|title=One Mile Away - All 4|work=channel4.com|access-date=26 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160612232022/http://www.channel4.com/programmes/one-mile-away/on-demand/52750-001|archive-date=12 June 2016|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2206354/|title=One Mile Away|date=29 March 2013|access-date=26 September 2016|via=IMDb|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170211152218/http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2206354/|archive-date=11 February 2017|url-status=live}} Following the truce, violent crime fell by 50% in the B6 postcode area and 30% in B21.

The increasingly collaborative relationship between the two gangs has led to some in the media describing them as more akin to a "super gang", seeking to establish a greater national network of organised crime rather than controlling their post-code areas.{{cite web|url=http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/birmingham-street-gangs-plan-crime-8318025|title=Birmingham street gangs 'uniting with other cities to form supergangs'|first=Amardeep|last=Bassey|date=21 December 2014|work=birminghammail.co.uk|access-date=26 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170116004010/http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/birmingham-street-gangs-plan-crime-8318025|archive-date=16 January 2017|url-status=live}} Other reports suggest both gangs are effectively inactive, and there is no "super gang".{{cite web|url=https://www.vice.com/en_uk/read/there-is-no-super-gang-in-birmingham-930|title=Investigating Birmingham's 'Super Gang' - VICE - United Kingdom|date=21 January 2015|work=vice.com|access-date=26 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160716020902/http://www.vice.com/en_uk/read/there-is-no-super-gang-in-birmingham-930|archive-date=16 July 2016|url-status=live}}

However, 20 shootings in mid 2015 onwards were linked to the feud between the Burger Bar Boys and the Johnson Crew, suggesting any truce is no longer active and the gang rivalry has been renewed.{{cite web|url=http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/burger-bar-boys-johnson-crew-10825757|title=Burger Bar Boys and Johnson Crew behind up to 20 Birmingham shootings|first=Nick|last=McCarthy|date=2 February 2016|work=birminghammail.co.uk|access-date=26 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160908150822/http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/burger-bar-boys-johnson-crew-10825757|archive-date=8 September 2016|url-status=live}}

See also:

• Peaky Blinders
• Birmingham Boys
• Murder of Letisha Shakespeare and Charlene Ellis

The history of Glasgow gangs can be traced back to the 18th century, although the first media reference to Glasgow gangs was not until the 1870s, with the acknowledgement of the Penny Mobs. It has been suggested that the rise in Glasgow gangs from the 1850s was a result of an influx in Irish immigrationGlasgow Gangs {{cite web |url=http://gangland.net/glasgow.htm |title=Gangland.net - Home |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071012214335/http://gangland.net/glasgow.htm |archive-date=2007-10-12 |url-status=dead |access-date=2023-10-10}} which included those from traditional Irish fighting gangs such as the Caravats and Shanavests. By the 1920s many Glasgow gangs were widely viewed as fighting gangs rather than criminal gangs, although there were widespread reports of extortion and protection rackets, particularly in the city's East End and South Side.{{cite journal|title=Glasgow's 'Reign of Terror': Street Gangs, Racketeering and Intimidation in the 1920s and 1930s|first=Andrew|last=Davies|date=1 December 2007|volume=21|issue=4|pages=405–427|doi=10.1080/13619460601060413|journal=Contemporary British History|s2cid=143930954}} By the 1930s, Glasgow had acquired a reputation throughout Britain as a hotbed of gang violence{{cite journal|jstor=4286514|title=Street Gangs, Crime and Policing in Glasgow during the 1930s: The Case of the Beehive Boys|first=Andrew|last=Davies|date=1 January 1998|journal=Social History|volume=23|issue=3|pages=251–267|doi=10.1080/03071029808568037}} and was regarded at the time as Britain's answer to Chicago, the epicenter of America's most violent warfare between organized crime.{{Cite web |url=http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/berg/cash/2007/00000004/00000004/art00007 |title=The Scottish Chicago?: From 'Hooligans' to 'Gangsters' in Inter-War Glasgow {{!}} Andrew Davies |access-date=2009-11-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110607113832/http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/berg/cash/2007/00000004/00000004/art00007 |archive-date=2011-06-07 |url-status=live }} The gangs at this time were also referred to as Glasgow razor gangs, named after their weapon of choice.{{cite web |url=https://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/news/13261531.ive-spent-15-years-of-my-life-with-glasgow-gangs/ |title=I've spent 15 years of my life with Glasgow gangs |work=Evening Times |date=10 August 2013 |access-date=23 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181023160742/https://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/news/13261531.ive-spent-15-years-of-my-life-with-glasgow-gangs/ |archive-date=23 October 2018 |url-status=dead }}

One of Glasgow's most notorious gangs were the Billy Boys, a sectarian anti-Catholic gang, who were formed in 1924 by William Fullerton after he was attacked by a group of Catholic youths.{{cite web|url= http://brigton-glesjack.blogspot.com/|title= Billy Fullerton Bridgeton (Brigton) Billy Boys Gang Glasgow|work= brigton-glesjack.blogspot.com|access-date= 26 September 2016|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110708025915/http://brigton-glesjack.blogspot.com/|archive-date= 8 July 2011|url-status= dead}}{{cite web|url=https://www.glasgowlive.co.uk/news/history/history-behind-glasgow-street-gang--12243020|title=The history of Glasgow's street gangs: Brigton's Billy Boys|work=Glasgow Live|author=Peter Cassidy|date=31 July 2017|access-date=23 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181023160754/https://www.glasgowlive.co.uk/news/history/history-behind-glasgow-street-gang--12243020|archive-date=23 October 2018|url-status=live}} Many gangs in the East End of Glasgow (such as the Billy Boys' rivals, the Norman Conks) were both sectarian and territorial, whereas in other districts they were primarily territorial.

The gang culture prevalent in the older, central areas of the city such as the Gorbals{{cite web|url=https://www.glasgowlive.co.uk/news/history/history-glasgows-street-gangs-how-12266308|title=The history of Glasgow's street gangs: How the Gorbals Cumbie ran Fred West out of town|work=Glasgow Live|author=Peter Cassidy|date=2 December 2016|access-date=23 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181023160710/https://www.glasgowlive.co.uk/news/history/history-glasgows-street-gangs-how-12266308|archive-date=23 October 2018|url-status=live}} which became overcrowded and substandard in living conditions, did not disappear when these areas were cleared and redeveloped following World War II with many of the inhabitants rehoused either in clusters of tower blocks or in large peripheral overspill estates like Easterhouse;[https://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/news/12790961.30-years-of-gang-terror-in-city-scheme/ 30 years of gang terror in city scheme] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190922184141/https://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/news/12790961.30-years-of-gang-terror-in-city-scheme/ |date=2019-09-22 }}, Evening Times, 12 July 2007{{cite web|url=https://www.glasgowlive.co.uk/news/history/history-glasgows-street-gangs-pop-12261102|title=The history of Glasgow's street gangs: Pop stars, politicians and the Easterhouse young teams|work=Glasgow Live|author=Peter Cassidy|date=4 February 2018|access-date=23 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181023160731/https://www.glasgowlive.co.uk/news/history/history-glasgows-street-gangs-pop-12261102|archive-date=23 October 2018|url-status=live}}[https://www.scotsman.com/news-2-15012/in-the-shadow-of-the-blade-1-1435068 In the shadow of the blade] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190922215100/https://www.scotsman.com/news-2-15012/in-the-shadow-of-the-blade-1-1435068 |date=2019-09-22 }}, The Scotsman, 19 July 2008 instead, as the job opportunities became limited in the post-industrial age, the structural flaws, planning mistakes and related social issues became apparent in the schemes as the years passed, and heroin addiction spread throughout the city, new gangs (in addition to some which remained in the original areas) formed in the modern environments and remained prominent for decades, particularly in Glasgow's many areas of deprivation and poor health where generations of young people suffered in childhood{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/society/2011/dec/19/glasgow-gang-violence-david-story|title=Glasgow gang violence: David's story|work=The Guardian|author=Jon Henley|date=19 December 2011|access-date=23 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181023160730/https://www.theguardian.com/society/2011/dec/19/glasgow-gang-violence-david-story|archive-date=23 October 2018|url-status=live}} and found themselves with little to occupy their lives as teenagers other than a cycle of thrilling but pointless collective recreational violence (usually fuelled by alcohol) against similar groups from neighbouring districts.[https://www.clydebankpost.co.uk/news/13936051.gang-members-weapon-taunts-at-battleground/ Gang member"s weapon taunts at battleground] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190922161705/https://www.clydebankpost.co.uk/news/13936051.gang-members-weapon-taunts-at-battleground/ |date=2019-09-22 }}, Clydebank Post, 14 May 2008{{cite news|url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/glasgow_and_west/8560629.stm|title=Man injured in 'territorial' gang attack in Rutherglen (BBC News 2010)|date=10 March 2010}}[https://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/news/14662242.clydebank-youth-permanently-disfigured-in-territory-gang-fight/ Clydebank youth permanently disfigured in territory gang fight] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190922161706/https://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/news/14662242.clydebank-youth-permanently-disfigured-in-territory-gang-fight/ |date=2019-09-22 }}, Evening Times, 4 August 2016{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/society/2011/dec/19/karyn-mccluskey-glasgow-gangs|title=Karyn McCluskey: the woman who took on Glasgow's gangs|work=The Guardian|author=Jon Henley|date=19 December 2011|access-date=23 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180905175705/https://www.theguardian.com/society/2011/dec/19/karyn-mccluskey-glasgow-gangs|archive-date=5 September 2018|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/4684992.stm|title=Gangs 'serious as sectarianism'|work=BBC News|author=Alex Robertson|date=7 February 2006|access-date=23 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060209030430/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/4684992.stm|archive-date=9 February 2006|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/12404027.smashing-the-gang-culture-apart-a-police-plan-to-lead-glasgow-youngsters-away-from-violence-and-criminality-brings-sworn-enemies-together-and-takes-them-out-of-the-city-emma-seith-reports/|title=Smashing the gang culture apart|work=The Herald|author=Emma Seith|date=12 December 2006|access-date=23 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181023160803/https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/12404027.smashing-the-gang-culture-apart-a-police-plan-to-lead-glasgow-youngsters-away-from-violence-and-criminality-brings-sworn-enemies-together-and-takes-them-out-of-the-city-emma-seith-reports/|archive-date=23 October 2018|url-status=dead}} This lifestyle was depicted years later in films such as Small Faces and Neds.{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/gangs-go-on-rampage-in-glasgow-cinema-during-screening-of-neds-2207460.html|title=Gangs go on rampage in Glasgow cinema during screening of 'Neds'|work=The Independent|author=Jonathan Brown|date=8 February 2011|access-date=23 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181023160708/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/gangs-go-on-rampage-in-glasgow-cinema-during-screening-of-neds-2207460.html|archive-date=23 October 2018|url-status=live}} Some of these young men moved into other criminal enterprises, including the operation of lucrative van routes in the city's East End "schemes" during the 1980s trading in stolen property and drugs, which were controlled by gangsters such as Tam McGraw, with the resulting "ice cream" turf war eventually culminating in the deaths of a family.{{cite news|title="Ice-cream wars" verdicts quashed as justice system faulted|work=The Scotsman|url=https://www.scotsman.com/news/ice-cream-wars-verdicts-quashed-as-justice-system-faulted-1-518117|access-date=23 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181024035214/https://www.scotsman.com/news/ice-cream-wars-verdicts-quashed-as-justice-system-faulted-1-518117|archive-date=24 October 2018|url-status=live}}

An Evening Times report in 2008 stated that there were 170 gangs in Glasgow[https://web.archive.org/web/20080208121357/https://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/news/display.var.2018768.0.glasgow_has_more_gangs_than_london.php Glasgow has more gangs than London | Evening Times 05.02.08 | archive version ]{{cite web|url=https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/uk-world-news/scotlands-gangs-968945|title=Scotland's Gangs|work=Daily Record|author=Paul O'Hare|date=15 February 2008|access-date=23 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181023160629/https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/uk-world-news/scotlands-gangs-968945|archive-date=23 October 2018|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://www.pressreader.com/uk/the-herald/20080304/281517926821436|title=300 'booze and blade' gangs blighting Scotland|work=The Herald|via=PressReader|author=David Leask|date=4 March 2008|access-date=23 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181023160525/https://www.pressreader.com/uk/the-herald/20080304/281517926821436|archive-date=23 October 2018|url-status=live}} whilst an earlier report in 2006 included a map showing the location and a list of Glasgow gangs.[https://web.archive.org/web/20210306210511/http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j250/englandgangs/mapofgggangs.jpg Gang Map of Glasgow 2006] Along with incidents from other origins including domestic violence and organised crime, the street gangs' behaviour contributed to Glasgow being declared the "murder capital of Europe" in the mid-2000s.{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/glasgow-is-britains-murder-capital-as-knife-crime-spirals-80548.html|title=Glasgow is Britain's murder capital as knife crime spirals|work=The Independent|author=Paul Kelbie|date=29 November 2003|access-date=23 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181023160743/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/glasgow-is-britains-murder-capital-as-knife-crime-spirals-80548.html|archive-date=23 October 2018|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2005/sep/26/ukcrime.scotland|title=Scotland has second highest murder rate in Europe|work=The Guardian|author=Gerard Seenan|date=26 September 2005|access-date=23 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181023195719/https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2005/sep/26/ukcrime.scotland|archive-date=23 October 2018|url-status=live}}{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/society/2005/oct/20/penal.crime |title=Scotland's murderous heart |work=The Guardian |author=Irvine Welsh |date=20 October 2005 |access-date=23 October 2018 |author-link=Irvine Welsh |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170415203553/https://www.theguardian.com/society/2005/oct/20/penal.crime |archive-date=15 April 2017 |url-status=live }} Gangs in Glasgow – some involved in the supply of drugs, housebreakings and other illegal activity but most simply a mob with minimal leadership structure, focused on enhancing their local reputation for notoriety and defending their "bit" (territory) – marked their territory with tags or graffiti,{{cite web|url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/07/uk_glasgow_gangs/html/4.stm|title= BBC News - In pictures: Glasgow gangs, Gang graffiti|work= bbc.co.uk|access-date= 26 September 2016|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080131180851/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/07/uk_glasgow_gangs/html/4.stm|archive-date= 31 January 2008|url-status= live}}[http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/_images/misc/graphics/clubs/220808ngangs3.jpg Glasgow Gang Graffiti | Evening Times 06.02.06] and adopted a particular style of dress and speech in each era, being defined as 'ned culture'.{{cite web |url=https://www.glasgowlive.co.uk/news/glasgow-news/glasgows-young-teams-timeline-progress-11374950 |title=Glasgow's Young Teams: A Timeline of Progress |work=Glasgow Live |date=29 May 2016 |access-date=23 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181023160542/https://www.glasgowlive.co.uk/news/glasgow-news/glasgows-young-teams-timeline-progress-11374950 |archive-date=23 October 2018 |url-status=live }} The majority of large-scale fights were organised in advance by phone calls, text messages and later by online contact, but at all times of the day rival neighbourhoods became "no-go areas" for gang members as well those young people who were not involved in the violence but could be identified as residing in another area.{{cite web |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/2238352.stm |title=Teenage victim's knife plea |work=BBC News |date=6 September 2002 |access-date=23 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040616100950/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/2238352.stm |archive-date=16 June 2004 |url-status=live }}{{Citation|title=Easterhouse Gangs - Reporting Scotland|publisher=BBC Scotland|date=11 November 2013|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1WDic_E22PM|access-date=19 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170105165102/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1WDic_E22PM|archive-date=5 January 2017|url-status=live}}

The habitual carrying of knives and other weapons was common wherever the fear of attack was present, with serious and tragic consequences often resulting from confrontations when they did occur. Several campaigns were launched by law enforcement and government agencies to discourage the possession of weapons,{{cite web |url=https://noknivesbetterlives.com/info/about-us |title=About us |publisher=No Knives, Better Lives |access-date=23 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181023200710/https://noknivesbetterlives.com/info/about-us |archive-date=23 October 2018 |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-15506307 |title=Knife crime scheme to expand across central Scotland |work=BBC News |date=30 October 2011 |access-date=23 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190129020830/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-15506307 |archive-date=29 January 2019 |url-status=live }} including a 2009 programme of checks on buses heading to the city centre, where the gangs would meet to fight when they left their own territory.{{cite web |url=https://www.pressreader.com/uk/the-herald/20091203/282415575381236 |title='Ring of steel' round Glasgow |work=The Herald |via=PressReader |author=Lucy Adams |date=3 December 2009 |access-date=23 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181023160438/https://www.pressreader.com/uk/the-herald/20091203/282415575381236 |archive-date=23 October 2018 |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=https://www.pressreader.com/uk/evening-times/20091207/282677568389250 |title=Cops search 1,016 in city safety blitz |work=Evening Times |via=PressReader |date=7 December 2009 |access-date=23 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181023160514/https://www.pressreader.com/uk/evening-times/20091207/282677568389250 |archive-date=23 October 2018 |url-status=live }} An earlier campaign of the 1990s, "Operation Blade", had initially appeared to produce results{{cite web |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/glasgow-knife-crime-success-1525283.html |title=Glasgow knife crime success |work=The Independent |author=John Arlidge |date=12 December 1995 |access-date=23 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181023160530/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/glasgow-knife-crime-success-1525283.html |archive-date=23 October 2018 |url-status=live }} before the levels of weapon use and violence soon returned to previous levels and thereafter increased.{{cite web |url=https://www.scotsman.com/news/can-this-really-cut-knife-crime-1-717990 |title=Can this really cut knife crime? |work=The Scotsman |date=29 June 2005 |access-date=23 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181023160439/https://www.scotsman.com/news/can-this-really-cut-knife-crime-1-717990 |archive-date=23 October 2018 |url-status=live }} Not all murders were gang-related, but the prevailing culture in the city caused weapons to be carried as a matter of course and, in combination with the abuse of alcohol, serious incidents to result from often trivial disputes.{{cite web |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/4690645.stm |title=Police condemn knife crime level |work=BBC News |date=18 July 2005 |access-date=23 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090131044219/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/4690645.stm |archive-date=31 January 2009 |url-status=live }}

The latter years of the 20th century saw an increase in Pakistani gangs, particularity in the South of Glasgow (e.g. Pollokshields).{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/glasgow_and_west/6130034.stm|title=Kriss community still under siege|work=BBC News|author=Stephen Stewart|date=8 November 2006|access-date=19 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070307104958/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/glasgow_and_west/6130034.stm|archive-date=7 March 2007|url-status=live}}{{cite web |url=https://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/news/1020787.Asian_gang_life_in_Glasgow/ |title=Asian gang lifestyle in Glasgow |work=Lancashire Telegraph |author=Imran Azam |date=26 November 2006 |access-date=19 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181023160754/https://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/news/1020787.Asian_gang_life_in_Glasgow/ |archive-date=23 October 2018 |url-status=live }} Pakistani gangs came to wider attention following the racially motivated murder of Kriss Donald by local men of Pakistani origin in 2004.{{cite web|url= http://www.scotsman.com/news/callous_killer_of_schoolboy_kriss_to_spend_at_least_17_years_in_jail_1_571198|title= Callous killer of schoolboy Kriss to spend at least 17 years in jail|work= scotsman.com|access-date= 26 September 2016|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160530015553/http://www.scotsman.com/news/callous_killer_of_schoolboy_kriss_to_spend_at_least_17_years_in_jail_1_571198|archive-date= 30 May 2016|url-status= live}}{{cite news | url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1533624/Boy-murdered-by-gang-in-search-of-a-white-victim.html | location=London | work=The Daily Telegraph | first=Auslan | last=Cramb | title=Boy murdered by gang in search of a white victim | date=9 November 2006 | access-date=3 April 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181023160733/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1533624/Boy-murdered-by-gang-in-search-of-a-white-victim.html | archive-date=23 October 2018 | url-status=live }}{{cite web|url= http://www.scotsman.com/news/scottish-news/top-stories/when-politics-gets-in-the-way-of-policing-1-541647|title=When politics gets in the way of policing|work= scotsman.com|access-date=26 September 2016}} During that period, in the wake of the Donald murder, as well as a perception that asylum seekers who had been housed in empty properties in some of Glasgow's most run-down areas were being given priority over locals, some of the teenage gangs in those areas styled themselves as "nazis".{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/6292747.stm|title=Asylum seekers targeted by gangs|work=BBC News|author=Stephen Stewart|date=5 March 2007|access-date=23 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070315061737/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/6292747.stm|archive-date=15 March 2007|url-status=live}}

In the decade following the publication of the Evening Times reports, the number of young people involved in "young teams" in Glasgow and the number of serious violent incidents recorded as a result of their activities reduced substantially;{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/apr/06/glasgow-murder-rate-knife-gang-crime-police|title=Glasgow smiles: how the city halved its murders by 'caring people into change'|work=The Guardian|author=Peter Geoghegan|date=6 April 2015|access-date=23 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181023160739/https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/apr/06/glasgow-murder-rate-knife-gang-crime-police|archive-date=23 October 2018|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url= http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/local-news/clashes-between-rival-gangs-rutherglen-7386521|title= Clashes Between Rival Gangs Decreasing (Daily Record 2016)|date= 23 February 2016|access-date= 2019-09-22|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190922184200/https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/local-news/clashes-between-rival-gangs-rutherglen-7386521|archive-date= 2019-09-22|url-status= live}}

{{cite web|url=https://www.glasgowlive.co.uk/news/glasgow-news/death-glasgows-young-teams-how-11374800|title=The death of Glasgow's young teams, how the city has won its gang war|work=Glasgow Live|author=Peter Cassidy|date=29 May 2016|access-date=23 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181023160743/https://www.glasgowlive.co.uk/news/glasgow-news/death-glasgows-young-teams-how-11374800|archive-date=23 October 2018|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://www.glasgowlive.co.uk/news/history/rise-fall-glasgow-young-teams-12243019|title=The history of Glasgow's street gangs: The violent life and death of the young teams|work=Glasgow Live|author=Peter Cassidy|date=31 January 2018|access-date=23 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181023160555/https://www.glasgowlive.co.uk/news/history/rise-fall-glasgow-young-teams-12243019|archive-date=23 October 2018|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-40522747|title=Scotland's gangs: where have they gone?|work=BBC News|author=David MacNicol|date=7 July 2017|access-date=23 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181112185730/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-40522747|archive-date=12 November 2018|url-status=live}} in 2016, contributors to an article in the same newspaper suggested the links to gang identity were deeply embedded in local communities and unlikely to entirely disappear for many years,{{cite web|url=https://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/news/14260315.do-glasgows-street-gangs-still-exist-in-2016-new-research-reveals-the-truth-on-young-teams/|title=Do Glasgow's street gangs still exist in 2016? New research reveals the truth on 'young teams'|work=Evening Times|author=Judith Duffy|date=8 February 2016|access-date=23 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181023160801/https://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/news/14260315.do-glasgows-street-gangs-still-exist-in-2016-new-research-reveals-the-truth-on-young-teams/|archive-date=23 October 2018|url-status=dead}} but that measures to combat the problems such as the police-led Violence Reduction Unit{{cite web|url=http://actiononviolence.org/about-us|title=About the Violence Reduction Unit|publisher=Violence Reduction Unit Scotland|access-date=23 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181023160548/http://actiononviolence.org/about-us|archive-date=23 October 2018|url-status=dead}} (which engaged with existing gang members, encouraging them to examine the negative consequences of their behaviour, to seek positive connections with their "enemies" such as Friday evening football games and outdoor pursuits,{{cite web |url=https://www.strathspey-herald.co.uk/News/Ganging-up-to-show-a-better-way-4532.htm |title=Ganging up to show a better way |work=Strathspey and Badenoch Herald |date=12 August 2009 |access-date=23 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181023160547/https://www.strathspey-herald.co.uk/News/Ganging-up-to-show-a-better-way-4532.htm |archive-date=23 October 2018 |url-status=dead }}{{cite web | url = http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/incoming/football-winning-fight-against-gangs-8930733 | title = Football Winning Fight Against Gangs (Daily Record, 2016) | date = 29 September 2016 | access-date = 2019-09-22 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190922184205/https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/incoming/football-winning-fight-against-gangs-8930733 | archive-date = 2019-09-22 | url-status = live }} and to provide opportunities for training and employment as an alternative to the lifestyle they had known) had been effective to a noticeable extent.{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-14012001 |title=Glasgow gang project cuts violent crime |work=BBC News |date=4 July 2011 |access-date=23 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190129021004/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-14012001 |archive-date=29 January 2019 |url-status=live }}{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2011/aug/11/glasgow-gangs-peace-crackdown|title=Glasgow gangs chose route to peace in face of tough crackdown|work=The Guardian|author=Severin Carrell|date=11 August 2011|access-date=23 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181023160746/https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2011/aug/11/glasgow-gangs-peace-crackdown|archive-date=23 October 2018|url-status=live}}[https://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/news/13265081.fare-play-helps-curb-easterhouse-gangs/ Fare play helps curb Easterhouse gangs] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190922184139/https://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/news/13265081.fare-play-helps-curb-easterhouse-gangs/ |date=2019-09-22 }}, Evening Times, 7 October 2013

Other external factors such as an increased availability of advanced internet-enabled gaming technology and the widespread use of social media among youngsters – which were acknowledged as having their own associated problems such as social isolation and online bullying, as well as allowing the "young teams" a platform to boast of their exploits and taunt rivals{{cite web |url=https://www.scotsman.com/future-scotland/tech/lazy-guide-to-net-culture-inter-neds-1-464475 |title=Lazy Guide to Net Culture: Inter-neds |work=The Scotsman |date=17 December 2003 |access-date=23 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181023160642/https://www.scotsman.com/future-scotland/tech/lazy-guide-to-net-culture-inter-neds-1-464475 |archive-date=23 October 2018 |url-status=live }}[https://www.scotsman.com/news-2-15012/street-gangs-in-decline-as-more-youths-opt-to-stay-home-1-4032856 Street gangs in decline as more youths opt to stay home] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190922184143/https://www.scotsman.com/news-2-15012/street-gangs-in-decline-as-more-youths-opt-to-stay-home-1-4032856 |date=2019-09-22 }}, The Scotsman, 17 February 2016 – also contributed to a general reduction in the number of local teenagers regularly out roaming the streets bored and seeking companionship or confrontation, with those who did openly express an affiliation to a violent gang more likely to face a negative reaction from the majority of their peers than in the past. In the wake of a rise in knife crime in England and Wales, particularly in London, in the 2010s, it was reported that those areas were studying the approaches taken by Scotland in tackling the issue.{{cite web|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/loki-glasgow-knife-crime_uk_5ace6044e4b064876776486a|title='Recognise What You're Doing Is Not Working': Rapper Darren 'Loki' McGarvey On How Glasgow Beat Knife Crime|work=Huffington Post|author=Rachel Wearmouth|date=14 April 2018|access-date=23 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181023160540/https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/loki-glasgow-knife-crime_uk_5ace6044e4b064876776486a|archive-date=23 October 2018|url-status=live}}{{cite news |url=https://www.economist.com/britain/2018/08/23/as-knife-crime-rises-in-england-police-look-to-glasgow |title=As knife crime rises in England, police look to Glasgow |newspaper=The Economist |date=23 August 2018 |access-date=23 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181022161807/https://www.economist.com/britain/2018/08/23/as-knife-crime-rises-in-england-police-look-to-glasgow |archive-date=22 October 2018 |url-status=live }}

However, it was recognised by the VRU that only around half of all violent incidents which occurred were reported to the police (as compared with figures from hospital admissions and other research),{{cite web|url=http://actiononviolence.org/news-and-blog/clarification|title=Clarification|publisher=Violence Reduction Unit Scotland|date=19 September 2018|access-date=23 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181023160539/http://actiononviolence.org/news-and-blog/clarification|archive-date=23 October 2018|url-status=live}} while violence related to organised crime in parts of the city (many of those involved having "graduated" from the local street gangs) remained a significant issue.{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2001/jun/17/scotland|title=How Fat Boy and the Apprentice unleashed Glasgow's gang wars|work=The Guardian|author=Tony Thompson|date=17 June 2001|access-date=23 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181023160754/https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2001/jun/17/scotland|archive-date=23 October 2018|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://www.sundaypost.com/fp/crime-gangs-are-running-amok-expert-fears-scots-neighbourhoods-and-streets-are-under-threat/|title='Crime gangs are running amok': Expert fears Scots neighbourhoods and streets are under threat|work=Sunday Post|author=David Leslie|date=9 July 2017|access-date=23 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181023160834/https://www.sundaypost.com/fp/crime-gangs-are-running-amok-expert-fears-scots-neighbourhoods-and-streets-are-under-threat/|archive-date=23 October 2018|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/jul/22/glasgow-gangland-feuds-erupt-in-public-killings|title=Glasgow's dark legacy returns as gangland feuds erupt in public killings|work=The Guardian|author=Kevin McKenna|date=22 July 2017|access-date=23 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180710225327/https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/jul/22/glasgow-gangland-feuds-erupt-in-public-killings|archive-date=10 July 2018|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/news/16222224.murder-maiming-and-mayhem-glasgows-gang-wars-are-well-and-truly-back/|title=Murder, maiming and mayhem ... Glasgow's gang wars are well and truly back|work=Evening Times|author=Ron McKay|date=13 May 2018|access-date=23 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181023160747/https://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/news/16222224.murder-maiming-and-mayhem-glasgows-gang-wars-are-well-and-truly-back/|archive-date=23 October 2018|url-status=dead}} A 2020 novel by Graeme Armstrong, The Young Team, narrated by a gang member in the local dialect, focuses on the "ned culture" of the region in the early 21st century (albeit set in Airdrie, North Lanarkshire a few miles east of Glasgow rather than in the city itself).[https://www.scotsman.com/arts-and-culture/books/book-review-young-team-graeme-armstrong-2077037?amp Book review: The Young Team, by Graeme Armstrong], Stuart Kelly, The Scotsman, 5 March 2020[https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/mar/13/the-young-team-graeme-armstrong-review The Young Team by Graeme Armstrong review – a swaggering, incendiary debut], Jude Cook, The Guardian, 13 March 2020 In October 2023, Armstrong wrote and presented a three-part BBC Scotland documentary series, Street Gangs{{cite web |date=26 September 2023 |title=BBC Scotland - Street Gangs, Series 1, Episode 1 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0gfmwwj |access-date=4 October 2023 |website=BBC}}{{cite web |date=25 September 2023 |title=New BBC documentary on 'young team' culture to air next week |url=https://www.glasgowtimes.co.uk/entertainment/tv_radio/23811591.bbc-scotland-documentary-young-teams-air-next-week/ |access-date=26 September 2023 |website=Glasgow Times}} exploring Scottish gang culture including the recent impact of social media and drill music / roadman culture, and his own lived experience as a gang member 15 years earlier.{{cite web |date=5 April 2023 |title=Writer who left life of violence behind to present BBC Scotland gang culture series |url=https://www.scotsman.com/whats-on/arts-and-entertainment/former-scottish-gang-member-and-writer-to-present-new-bbc-scotland-gang-culture-series-4092659 |access-date=15 May 2023 |website=The Scotsman}}

{{further|Gangs in Liverpool}}

Street gangs in Liverpool have been in existence since the mid-19th century. There were also various sectarian "political" gangs based in and around Liverpool during this period.{{cite web |url=http://www.ljmu.ac.uk/NewsUpdate/index_82032.htm |title=New book uncovers city's sinister past |first=Michael |last=Macilwee |work=ljmu.ac.uk |date=5 July 2006 |access-date=12 August 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140103195547/http://www.ljmu.ac.uk/NewsUpdate/index_82032.htm |archive-date=3 January 2014}} Dr Michael Macilwee of Liverpool John Moores University and author of the 2006 The Gangs of Liverpool stated, "You can learn lessons from the past and it's fascinating to compare the newspaper headlines of today with those from the late 1800s. The issues are exactly the same. People were worried about rising youth crime and the influence of 'penny dreadfuls' on people's behaviour. Like today, some commentators demanded longer prison sentences and even flogging while others called for better education and more youth clubs."

In the early 1980s Liverpool was tagged by the media as "Smack City" or "Skag City" after it experienced an explosion in organised gang crime and heroin abuse, especially within the city's more deprived areas.{{cite web |url=http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/misc/60minliv.htm |title=Rx Drugs - The Liverpool, England method |first=Ed |last=Bradley |work=druglibrary.org |date=December 27, 1992 |access-date=12 August 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131018195823/http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/Misc/60minliv.htm |archive-date=18 October 2013 |url-status=live}}[http://www.drugtext.org/library/articles/97844.htm www.drugtext.org] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071115232307/http://www.drugtext.org/library/articles/97844.htm |date=November 15, 2007}} At the same time several criminal gangs began developing into drug dealing cartels in the city, including the Liverpool Mafia, which was the first such cartel to develop in the UK. As drugs became increasingly valuable, large distribution networks were developed with cocaine producers in South America, including the Cali cartel.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/may/18/drugstrade.internationalcrime|title=Colombian 'hit' that set off a UK cocaine war|last=Thompson|first=Tony|date=2008-05-18|newspaper=The Guardian|access-date=12 May 2010|location=London|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130902090311/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/may/18/drugstrade.internationalcrime|archive-date=2 September 2013|url-status=live}} Over time, several Liverpool gangsters became increasingly wealthy, including Colin 'Smigger' Smith, who had an estimated fortune of £200m{{cite news|url=http://icliverpool.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0100regionalnews/tm_headline=liverpool-s-top-gangster-colin-smith-shot-dead%26method=full%26objectid=20106543%26page=1%26siteid=50061-name_page.html|title=Liverpool's top gangster Colin Smith shot dead|last=Rossington|first=Ben|newspaper=Liverpool Echo|access-date=12 May 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110614123332/http://icliverpool.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0100regionalnews/tm_headline%3Dliverpool-s-top-gangster-colin-smith-shot-dead%26method%3Dfull%26objectid%3D20106543%26page%3D1%26siteid%3D50061-name_page.html|archive-date=14 June 2011|url-status=live}} and Curtis 'Cocky' Warren, whose estimated wealth once saw him listed on the Sunday Times Rich List.{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/merseyside/6752867.stm |title=Gangster freed from Dutch prison |work=BBC News |date=14 June 2007 |location=London |access-date=12 August 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070922063006/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/merseyside/6752867.stm |archive-date=22 September 2007 |url-status=live}}

It has also been suggested that distribution networks for illicit drugs within Ireland and the UK, and even allegedly some Mediterranean holiday resorts, have become controlled by various Liverpool gangs.{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2001/apr/08/drugsandalcohol.tonythompson |title=Drug gangs' spate of turf war killings |first=Tony |last=Thompson |work=The Observer |date=8 April 2001 |access-date=12 August 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140104020533/http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2001/apr/08/drugsandalcohol.tonythompson |archive-date=4 January 2014 |url-status=live}}{{cite web |url=http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/how-city-gangs-control-ibizas-3515108 |title=How city gangs control Ibiza's evil drug trade |work=Liverpool Echo |date=4 August 2006 |access-date=12 August 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140104051659/http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/how-city-gangs-control-ibizas-3515108 |archive-date=4 January 2014 |url-status=live}}

A report in the Observer newspaper written by journalist Peter Beaumont entitled Gangsters put Liverpool top of gun league (28 May 1995), observed that turf wars had erupted within Liverpool. The high levels of violence in the city came to a head in 1996 when, following the shooting of gangster David Ungi, six shootings occurred in seven days, prompting Merseyside Police to become one of the first police forces in the country to openly carry weapons in the fight against gun crime.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2001/apr/08/drugsandalcohol.tonythompson|title=Drug gangs' spate of turf war killings|last=Thompson|first=Tony|date=2001-04-08|newspaper=The Guardian|access-date=12 May 2010|location=London|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140104020533/http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2001/apr/08/drugsandalcohol.tonythompson|archive-date=4 January 2014|url-status=live}} Official Home Office statistics revealed a total of 3,387 offences involving firearms had occurred in the Merseyside region during a four-year period between 1997 and 2001.[http://www.criminal-information-agency.com/murder_record.php?recordID=66] www.criminal-information-agency.com {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071028035455/http://www.criminal-information-agency.com/murder_record.php?recordID=66|date=October 28, 2007}} It was revealed that Liverpool was the main centre for organised crime in the North of England.{{cn|date=January 2025}}

In August 2007 the ongoing war between two rival gangs caused nationwide outrage, when innocent 11-year-old Rhys Jones was shot in the neck and died in his mother's arms in the car park of the Fir Tree pub in Croxteth Liverpool.{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/merseyside/6959562.stm |title=Boy, 11, dies after pub shooting |work=BBC News |date=23 August 2007 |location=London |access-date=12 August 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170903081451/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/merseyside/6959562.stm |archive-date=3 September 2017 |url-status=live}} On 16 December 2008, Sean Mercer was convicted of the murder and ordered to serve a minimum tariff of 22 years by trial judge Mr Justice Irwin.{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/merseyside/7775340.stm |title=Life term for Rhys Jones killer |work=BBC News |date=16 December 2008 |location=London |access-date=12 August 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170726051704/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/merseyside/7775340.stm |archive-date=26 July 2017 |url-status=live}}

{{Further|Crime in London}}

London was the first city noted to have a major problem with criminal gangs, followed thereafter by US cities such as New York City, Chicago and Los Angeles.{{Cite web |url=http://www.ph.ucla.edu/sciprc/pdf/GANG_VIOLENCE.pdf |title=Gang Violence Fact Sheet {{!}} Violence Prevention Coalition of Greater Los Angeles |access-date=2009-10-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100331031213/http://www.ph.ucla.edu/sciprc/pdf/GANG_VIOLENCE.pdf |archive-date=2010-03-31 |url-status=live }} A number of street gangs were present in London during the 20th century, many in the East End, often referred to as Mobs, including The Yiddishers, Hoxton Mob, Watney Streeters, Aldgate Mob, Whitechapel Mob, Bethnal Green Mob and the organised Italian Mob headed by Charles Sabini. The history of these gangs is well documented in "London's Underworld: Three centuries of vice and crime".{{cite book|title=London's Underworld: Three Centuries of Vice and Crime|first=Fergus|last=Linnane|date=28 March 2003|publisher=Robson Books Ltd|id= {{ASIN|186105548X|country=uk}}}}

The Pall Mall Gazette released a research report on gangs and crime in England in 1888, they discuss the downfall and dissolution of a gang called the Skeleton Army a few years before hand, and include a collection of 9 gangs and their respective territories, gathered from contemporary police reports, which are as follows:

In February 2007, the BBC reported on an unpublished Metropolitan Police report on London's gang culture, identifying 169 separate groups (see Ghetto Boys, Tottenham Mandem and Peckham Boys), with more than a quarter said to have been involved in murders.{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/6383933.stm |work=BBC News |title=Police identify 169 London gangs |date=21 February 2007 |access-date=3 May 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090214102626/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/6383933.stm |archive-date=14 February 2009 |url-status=live}} The report's accuracy has been questioned by some London Boroughs for being inaccurate in places and the existence of certain gangs on the list could not be substantiated.{{cite web|url=http://thecnj.myzen.co.uk/camden/2007/100407/news100407_01.html|title=Camden New Journal - News: How serious is the gang threat on our streets?|work=myzen.co.uk|access-date=26 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303215706/http://thecnj.myzen.co.uk/camden/2007/100407/news100407_01.html|archive-date=3 March 2016|url-status=dead}} The Centre for Social Justice identifies the Gangs in London website[http://www.piczo.com/gangsinlondon London Gang Resource] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080820183235/http://www.piczo.com/gangsinlondon |date=2008-08-20}} as a useful tool in creating an overall picture of London gangs, as highlighted in the report "Dying to Belong: An in depth review of street gangs in Britain",{{cite web |url=http://www.centreforsocialjustice.org.uk/UserStorage/pdf/Pdf%20reports/DyingtoBelongFullReport.pdf |title=Dying to Belong {{!}} Centre for Social Justice |access-date=2016-05-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160610025145/http://www.centreforsocialjustice.org.uk/UserStorage/pdf/Pdf%20reports/DyingtoBelongFullReport.pdf |archive-date=2016-06-10 |url-status=dead}} which was led by Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith in 2009.

In February 2007, criminologist Dr John Pitts, from the University of Bedfordshire, said: "There are probably no more than 1,500 to 2,000 young people in gangs in all of London, but their impact is enormous". There is no methodology to suggest where this number came from and how it was obtained. Furthermore, in December 2007 in a report written by Pitts on Lambeth gangs, he claims that the dominant gang (PDC from Angell Town) "boasts 2,500 members".{{cite web |url=http://www.lambeth.gov.uk/moderngov/Published/C00000113/M00005799/AI00004225/$EXECUTIVECOMCHAIRREPORT2.docA.ps.pdf |title=Executive Commission Gangs {{!}} Lambeth Council |access-date=2009-10-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140104002315/http://www.lambeth.gov.uk/moderngov/Published/C00000113/M00005799/AI00004225/$EXECUTIVECOMCHAIRREPORT2.docA.ps.pdf |archive-date=2014-01-04 |url-status=live}} Probably a more accurate estimation for gang membership, although dated, can be found in the 2004 Home Office document "Delinquent Youth Groups and Offending Behaviour".[http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs06/rdsolr1406.pdf Delinquent Youth Groups and Offending Behaviour | Home Office] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091123025419/http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs06/rdsolr1406.pdf |date=2009-11-23}} The report, using a methodology developed by American gang experts and practitioners, estimated that 6% of young people aged 10–19 were classified as belonging to a delinquent youth group, although based on the most stringent criteria this was 4%.

There is a modern history of London gangs dating from the 1970s although many of them emerged from sub-cultures such as punks, Rastas and football hooligans. Two well known subcultures involved in violent clashes during the Notting Hill riots in the 1950s, Teddy Boys and Rudeboys, could be labelled gangs by modern media.{{cn|date=January 2025}} Amongst the London gangs whose history does go back to the 1970s are the Peckham Boys and Tottenham Mandem, both predominantly or entirely black. Native British gangs remain active while there are several Asian gangs in London, such as the Brick Lane Massive whom are predominantly of Bangladeshi descent.{{citation needed|date=October 2022}}

A gang database for London estimated that 78.2% of members were Black, 12.8% were white, 6.5% were Asian (Pakistani, Indian and Bangladeshis), 2.2% were Middle Eastern/Arabs and under 1% were East Asian or of unknown-ethnicity.{{cite web |url=http://www.irr.org.uk/news/the-met-gangs-matrix-institutional-racism-in-action/ |title=The Met Gangs Matrix |access-date=2016-11-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161112081645/http://www.irr.org.uk/news/the-met-gangs-matrix-institutional-racism-in-action/ |archive-date=2016-11-12 |url-status=dead}} In the early 2000s, Ross Kemp's documentary on London Gangs discussed numerous ethnic gangs in the city, with one example being Tamil gangs in Croydon and Wembley that had been active such as the "Wembley Boys" and the "Tamil Snake Gang".{{cite web |title=Google Sites |url=http://sites.google.com/site/londonstreetgangs/gang-lists/northwest-london-gangs/wembley-tamils |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120420071708/http://sites.google.com/site/londonstreetgangs/gang-lists/northwest-london-gangs/wembley-tamils |archive-date=20 April 2012 |access-date=26 September 2016 |work=google.com}}{{cite news |last=Walker |first=Christopher |date=6 February 2003 |title=Blood spilt for sake of honour and territory |url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article866514.ece |access-date=2003-02-06 |newspaper=Times Online |location=London}}{{dead link|date=September 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}{{cite news |last=Summers |first=Chris |date=25 May 2002 |title=Tamils preying on Tamils |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/2007199.stm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120504012138/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/2007199.stm |archive-date=4 May 2012 |access-date=9 November 2011 |work=BBC News}}

London gangs are increasingly marking their territory with gang graffiti, usually a gang name and the UK postcode area or housing estate they identify with; "postcode wars" is a nickname for their fights.{{Cite news |last=Adams |first=Lewis |date=2024-08-02 |title=Why was there violence in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, and how? |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cnl047ep8yro |access-date=2024-08-02 |publisher=BBC |language=en-GB}} In some cases they may tag the street road signs in their area with an identified gang colour, as can be seen in Edmonton.{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_7773000/7773718.stm|title=BBC - Today|work=BBC|date=11 December 2008 |access-date=26 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306041644/http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_7773000/7773718.stm|archive-date=6 March 2016|url-status=live}} This is not a new phenomenon and has been practised by many London gangs in the past although it has become a more integral part of the modern gang culture. Many gangs have a strong sense of belonging to their local areas and often take their names from the housing estates, districts and postal code areas where they are located.{{Cite book|title=How Gangs Work|last=Densley|first=James|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|year=2013|isbn=9781137271501}} In some areas the post codes act as rival gang boundaries,{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/6304345.stm|title='Postcode gangs' stalk East End|work=BBC News|date=26 January 2007 |access-date=26 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090123172910/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/6304345.stm|archive-date=23 January 2009|url-status=live}} although this is not a general rule as there can be rival gangs present within the same postal area as well as gangs that occupy multiple postal areas.

In 2018, researchers from London South Bank University found that gangs in the London borough of Waltham Forest that used to be organised around post code rivalries had moved beyond territorial disputes to focus on profit-making activities like drug dealing.{{Cite web|url=https://www.lsbu.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0018/128205/postcodes-to-profit-dr-andrew-whittaker.pdf|title=From Postcodes to Profit: How gangs have changed in Waltham Forest|access-date=July 19, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180719233242/https://www.lsbu.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0018/128205/postcodes-to-profit-dr-andrew-whittaker.pdf|archive-date=July 19, 2018|url-status=live}} They cite James Densley's gang evolution model, which details how gangs progress from recreational goals and activities like defending post codes to financial goals and activities like drug dealing.{{Cite journal|last=Densley|first=James A.|date=2012-04-04|title=It's Gang Life, But Not As We Know It|journal=Crime & Delinquency|language=en|volume=60|issue=4|pages=517–546|doi=10.1177/0011128712437912|s2cid=145149869|issn=0011-1287}} Densley concludes that fully evolved gangs "resemble not just crime that is organized, but organized crime".{{Cite book|title=How Gangs Work|last=Densley|first=James|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|year=2013|location=9781137271501|pages=66}} Densley also found that gangs in London also used handsigns and gang tattoos to denote gang membership.{{Citation needed|date=August 2011}} Some gangs in London are motivated by religion, as is the case with Muslim Patrol. However, profits arising from drugs and other criminal activity is a significant motivator for many gangs.

{{Further|Gooch Close Gang| Gun crime in south Manchester}}

The first recorded gangs in Manchester were "Scuttlers", which were youth gangs that recruited boys and girls between 14 and 21 years of age.University of Liverpool. "Victorian Manchester Home To First Youth Gangs." ScienceDaily 26 October 2008 (downloaded 22 June 2010) [https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/10/081021190638.htm] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190104235245/https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/10/081021190638.htm|date=2019-01-04}} They became prominent amongst the slums during the second half of the 19th century, but had mostly disappeared by the beginning of the 20th century.{{citation needed|date=June 2020}} In the mid-1980s, a growth in violence amongst Black British youths from the west side of the Alexandra Park Estate in South Manchester and their rivals, West Indians living to the north of the city, in Cheetham Hill began to gain media attention.[https://www.bbc.co.uk/manchester/have_your_say/2003/01/06/gangs.shtml A street guide to gangs in Manchester] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171122131716/http://www.bbc.co.uk/manchester/have_your_say/2003/01/06/gangs.shtml |date=2017-11-22}} BBC, accessed 28/10/07 The city has sometimes been dubbed in the media as "Gangchester" and "Gunchester".[http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/s/233/233750_history_of_moss_sides_gun_gang_culture.html History of Moss Side's gun gang culture] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070402221137/http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/s/233/233750_history_of_moss_sides_gun_gang_culture.html |date=2007-04-02}} Manchester News, accessed 28/10/07

The gang culture spread into many deprived areas in South Manchester.[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/manchester/5334510.stm Killing surprises few in Moss Side] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090313033134/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/manchester/5334510.stm |date=2009-03-13 }} BBC, accessed 28/10/07 A gang-related crime occurred on 9 September 2006, in Moss Side, where Jessie James, a 15-year-old schoolboy was shot dead in the early hours of the morning. His shooting is said to have been the result of a mistaken identity for a rival gang member. To this day his murderer(s) have not been found.

In April 2009, eleven members of the Gooch Gang were found guilty of a number of charges ranging from murder to drugs offences. The Gooch Gang had a long-standing rivalry with the equally well known Doddington gang. The Gooch gang operated with a tiered structure. On the top were the gang's leaders, Colin Joyce and Lee Amos, and below them were members controlling the supply and distribution of drugs to the street dealers at the bottom. The gang was earning an estimated £2,000 a day, with street dealers allowed to keep £100 a day for themselves. After 2001 when Joyce and Amos were sent to prison on firearms charges, there followed a 92% drop in gun crime in central Manchester.{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7978653.stm|title=BBC NEWS - UK - Blow dealt to city's 'Wild West' gangs|work=BBC|date=7 April 2009 |access-date=26 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090409090739/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7978653.stm|archive-date=9 April 2009|url-status=live}} Official gun enabled crime figures show a 17% reduction in Manchester when comparing 2005/06 (1,200 offences) and 2006/07 (993 offences). However, this was followed by an increase of 17% in 2007/08 (1,160 offences) compared to 2006/07.[http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs09/hosb0209.pdf Homicides, Firearms Offences and Intimate Violence 2007/08 | Home Office] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100215180711/http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs09/hosb0209.pdf |date=2010-02-15 }} In 2009 shootings were reported as falling by 82% compared with the previous year.{{cite news|date=2009-08-25|title=Top Tory compares Moss Side to The Wire|first=Chris|last=Osuh|url=http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/s/1133461_top_tory_compares_moss_side_to_the_wire|publisher=Manchester Evening News|work=Manchester Evening News|access-date=2009-12-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090825193412/http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/s/1133461_top_tory_compares_moss_side_to_the_wire|archive-date=2009-08-25|url-status=live}}

In addition to this, many ethnic gangs can be found within Manchester as well, Black and Pakistani gangs being the most prominent, founded in areas such as Rochdale and Oldham where criminal charges range from carrying firearms to murder. Manchester is also home to the Inter City Jibbers, an element within the city's main hooligan gang that uses football hooliganism as a cover for acquisitive forms of crime. According to former Manchester United hooligan Colin Blaney in his autobiography Undesirables, members of the gang have been involved in serious forms of crime, such as drug smuggling from Latin America and the Caribbean, carrying out armed robberies and committing robberies on drug dealers.{{cite book |first=Colin |last=Blaney |title=Undesirables |year=2014 |publisher=John Blake |isbn=978-1782198970 |pages=128–275 }} In an interview with Vice, members of the gang spoke of connections with Liberian drug smuggling cartels and convictions for offences including armed robbery, credit card fraud and sale of class A drugs.{{cite news |first=Nick |last=Chester |title=Manchester's King of Twining Could Steal Your Money and Your Fags |publisher=Vice Media |date=17 April 2013 }}

A number of the criminal gangs in the United Kingdom specialise in the importation, production and sale of illicit drugs. Of the 2,800 gangs identified within the United Kingdom it is estimated that 60% are involved in drugs.{{cite web|url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article6164635.ece|title=Login|work=The Times|access-date=26 September 2016|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090508080845/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article6164635.ece|archive-date=8 May 2009}} Amongst them are the Yardies, also known as Posses in America, who are generally associated with crack cocaine. In 2003, it was reported that Yardie drug gangs were present in 36 of the 43 police service areas in England and Wales.{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/explosive-spread-of-yardies-raises-gun-crime-threat-says-police-report-734376.html|title=Philip Seymour Hoffman dead: Tom Hanks, George Clooney, Robert De|date=3 February 2014|work=The Independent|access-date=26 September 2016}}{{dead link|date=August 2021|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} One of the more prominent were the Aggi Crew in Bristol.

In 1998, six members of the Aggi Crew were imprisoned after being found in possession of over £1 million worth of crack-cocaine.[http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/crime/article87816.ece 'My gun drives fear into people - once you got money and a gun, you got power'] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071030094918/http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/crime/article87816.ece |date=2007-10-30 }} Independent, accessed 28/10/07

There were raids across the city which was the latest phase of Operation Atrium, launched in 2001 to clamp down on drug-related crime in Bristol by disrupting organised gangs. More than 960 people have been arrested in the past 18 months.{{cite web|url=http://www.avonandsomerset.police.uk/information/documents/Display.aspx?dt=2&d=570 |title=Operation Atrium Fact Sheet |work=Avon and Somerset Constabulary |date=21 April 2005 |access-date=12 August 2013 }}{{dead link|date=January 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} In 2009 Olympian and judo expert James Waithe was convicted of drugs offences, having been an enforcer for drug ring that made £50 million annually.

Asian drug gangs, usually of Pakistani and Tamil descent are also present in the United Kingdom. Notable Tamil gangs include Harrow Tamils and Wembley Tamils. Pakistani gangs have been recorded to be associated with the importation and distribution of heroin and can be found in Luton, Bradford, Birmingham, Manchester, Huddersfield, Slough, Bedford, and Middlesbrough.{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/beds/bucks/herts/2941151.stm|title=BBC NEWS - UK - England - Beds/Bucks/Herts - Heroin gang jailed|work=BBC|date=11 April 2003 |access-date=26 September 2016}} Drug squad officers in 2003 claimed that Asian gangs were actively seeking to corner the heroin market.{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/2679233.stm|title=BBC NEWS - UK - England - Asian gangs infiltrate heroin trade|work=BBC|date=21 January 2003 |access-date=26 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080331060447/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/2679233.stm|archive-date=31 March 2008|url-status=live}}

In other reports it has been suggested that Turkey replaced Pakistan and Afghanistan as the most important transit point for heroin, and it is estimated that 80% of heroin intercepted by British authorities belongs to Turkish gangs, which previously belonged to Pakistani and Afghan gangs.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/1999/oct/25/freedomofinformation.politics|title=Turkish family 'controls UK drugs business'|first1=Rob|last1=Evans|first2=David|last2=Hencke|date=25 October 1999|access-date=26 September 2016|newspaper=The Guardian|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160307184252/http://www.theguardian.com/uk/1999/oct/25/freedomofinformation.politics|archive-date=7 March 2016|url-status=live}} A recent spate of murders in London in 2009 have been linked to a heroin drugs war involving rival Turkish and Kurdish gangs in north London.{{cite web|url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article6868810.ece|title=Login|work=The Times|access-date=26 September 2016}}{{dead link|date=September 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} It is believed that the feud is between two organised drug gangs, the Turkish "Tottenham Boys"[http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/article-19510614-swoop-on-terror-gang.do Swoop on terror gang | London Evening Standard 24.06.05] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091101102602/http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/article-19510614-swoop-on-terror-gang.do |date=2009-11-01 }} and the "Bombarcilar" or "Bombers" from Hackney. The Bombers were led by Abdullah Babysin who was said to be Britain's largest importer of heroin; he was convicted in 2006.{{cite web|url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article729732.ece|title=Login|work=The Times|access-date=26 September 2016}}{{dead link|date=September 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}

Although most assumptions surrounding gang culture in the UK surround male-dominated narratives, females also played a role in gangs in Britain in the late 19th to early 20th centuries.{{Cite journal|last=Davies|first=Andrew|date=January 1, 1999|title='THESE VIRAGOES ARE NO LESS CRUEL THAN THE LADS': Young Women, Gangs and Violence in Late Victorian Manchester and Salford|url=https://academic.oup.com/bjc/article/39/1/72/346990|journal=The British Journal of Criminology|volume=39|pages=72–89|doi=10.1093/bjc/39.1.72|access-date=February 25, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200229003244/https://academic.oup.com/bjc/article/39/1/72/346990|archive-date=February 29, 2020|url-status=live}} Society saw women as conspirators, supporters, and even perpetuators of gang crime in the late nineteenth century. In 1898, the Manchester Guardian wrote an article that said, “Girls incited conflicts between the gangs and were thus responsible for the majority of scuttling affrays.” This article reflects how women were viewed as sexual objects, causing a lot of the fights and violence that occurred between gangs.

While historians such as Stephen Humphries support this claim that women played a supporting role in gangs, Andrew Davies argues that women played a much more active one.{{Cite journal|last=Davies|first=Andrew|date=January 1, 2020|title='THESE VIRAGOES ARE NO LESS CRUEL THAN THE LADS': Young Women, Gangs and Violence in Late Victorian Manchester and Salford|url=https://academic.oup.com/bjc/article/39/1/72/346990|journal=The British Journal of Criminology|volume=39|pages=73|access-date=February 25, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200229003244/https://academic.oup.com/bjc/article/39/1/72/346990|archive-date=February 29, 2020|url-status=live}} One of the most famous gangs of the early 20th century was an all-female gang in London called the Forty Elephants.{{Cite book|last=McDonald|first=Brian|title=Alice Diamond and the Forty Elephants|publisher=Milo Books Ltd|year=2015|location=Croydon}} By 1890, the Forty Elephants chose their first "queen" and established themselves as free from male control.{{Cite book|last=McDonald|first=Brian|title=Alice Diamond and the Forty Elephants|publisher=Milo Books Ltd.|year=2015|location=Croydon|pages=44}} Led by Alice Diamond during its height in 1915, the gang was notorious for stealing expensive clothing, partying among the wealthy, engaging in violent robberies, and for being romantically involved with other gang leaders around London.

When it came to court, magistrates treated women's involvement in gangs differently to that of men.  The concern over female crime related to the deviation from typical notions of femininity and morality, thus women typically received lesser sentences than men.{{Cite journal|last=Davies|first=Andrew|date=January 1, 1999|title='These viragoes are no less cruel than the lads': young women, gangs and violence in late Victorian Manchester and Salford|url=https://academic.oup.com/bjc/article/39/1/72/346990|journal=The British Journal of Criminology|volume=39|pages=73–74|doi=10.1093/bjc/39.1.72|access-date=February 25, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200229003244/https://academic.oup.com/bjc/article/39/1/72/346990|archive-date=February 29, 2020|url-status=live}} Due to the conventional idea of femininity that saw women as weaker than men, many courts would have believed it impossible to view women as orchestrators of such crime. Most women were assumed to have played a supporting role.

Britain has a number of traditional organised crime firms or local British crime families. Some of the most well known include the Kray twins, The Richardson Gang and Terry Adams Clerkenwell crime syndicate in London. Outside the capital there are the Noonans in Manchester, Thomas McGraw from Glasgow and Curtis Warren from Liverpool who are amongst some of the most infamous.{{Citation needed|date=December 2017}}.

By the 1980s the Irish Republican Army had capitalised on long established Irish Organised Crime in the UK to effectively gain control of organised crime, the drug trade and even copyright piracy to fund its terrorism.{{cite book | chapter-url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7249/mg742mpa.11 | jstor=10.7249/mg742mpa.11 | chapter=Terrorism and Film Piracy | last1=Treverton | first1=Gregory F. | last2=Matthies | first2=Carl | last3=Cunningham | first3=Karla J. | last4=Goulka | first4=Jeremiah | last5=Ridgeway | first5=Greg | last6=Wong | first6=Anny | title=Film Piracy, Organized Crime, and Terrorism | year=2009 | pages=73–96 | publisher=RAND Corporation | isbn=9780833045652 }}{{Cite news |date=1996-03-04 |title=IRA 'exploiting crime gangs' |last=Bennetto|first=Jason|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/ira-exploiting-crime-gangs-1340226.html |access-date=2022-11-09 |work=The Independent |language=en}} With the Good Friday Agreement many former IRA and other Northern Irish paramilitaries moved into organised crime. They were largely displaced even in Northern Ireland by organised criminal gangs from Eastern Europe and the Balkans in the 2000s.{{cite report|url=https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201719/cmselect/cmpubacc/2049/2049.pdf|title=Serious and Organised Crime|work=Committee of Public Accounts|publisher=UK House of Commons|date=2019-09-09}}{{Cite news|date=2021-08-26 |title=West Balkan crime gangs 'emerging as top dogs in NI' |url=https://www.newsletter.co.uk/news/crime/west-balkan-crime-gangs-emerging-as-top-dogs-in-ni-says-former-head-of-psni-organised-crime-branch-3359939 |access-date=2022-11-09 |last=Bradfield|first=Philip|work=News Letter |language=en}}

The more established British and Irish organised criminal gangs were no longer able to compete in the intense rival for the drug trade in the UK major cities, moved to smaller towns, establishing the so called county lines.{{Cite web |title=County Lines - Urban drug gangs target coastal communities |url=https://news.npcc.police.uk/releases/county-lines-urban-drug-gangs-target-coastal-communities |access-date=2022-11-09 |website=National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) |language=en-GB}} In 2018 there were 4,629 criminal gangs and syndicates in Britain, employing 33,598 professional gangsters. The figure of 4,629 means there are more gangs in Britain than staff members of the NCA. 33,598 career criminals translates to more gangsters in Britain than belong to all three big Italian mafias. Organised crime in the UK generates annual revenues of £37bn, or 1.8% of GDP.{{Cite news |date=2018-11-22 |title=Organised crime in the UK is bigger than ever before. Can the police catch up? |url=http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/nov/22/uk-organised-crime-can-police-catch-up-national-crime-agency-lynne-owens |access-date=2022-11-09 |last=Perry|first=Alex|work=The Guardian |language=en}}

Sectarian, or "political" gangs have featured in British cities such as Liverpool in England, Glasgow in Scotland and Belfast in Northern Ireland. Belfast has been the capital of Northern Ireland since its establishment in 1921 following the Government of Ireland Act 1920. Since its emergence as a major city, it had been the scene of various episodes of sectarian conflict between its Roman Catholic and Protestant populations. The Ulster Protestant Association is said to have provided many members of the murder gangs active in Belfast during 1921–22. Other Protestant gangs active at that time were: the Imperial Guards, Crawford's Tigers and the Cromwell Clubs.McDermott, Jim, (2001), Northern Divisions The Old IRA and the Belfast Pogroms 1920-22, BTP Publications, Belfast, pg 15, ISBN 1-900960-11-7 These opposing groups in this conflict are now often termed republican and loyalist respectively, although they are also referred to as "nationalist" and "unionist".{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/1269206.stm |title=Sutton Index of Deaths |publisher=CAIN |access-date=2007-09-10 |date=11 April 2001 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090111212052/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/1269206.stm |archive-date=11 January 2009 |url-status=live }}

The most recent example of this is known as the Troubles - a civil conflict that raged from c.1969 to the late 1990s. Belfast saw some of the worst of the Troubles in Northern Ireland, particularly in the 1970s, with rival paramilitary groups forming on both sides. Bombing, assassination and street violence formed a backdrop to life throughout the Troubles. The Provisional IRA detonated twenty-two bombs, all in a confined area in the city centre in 1972, on what is known as "Bloody Friday", killing nine people.

The IRA also killed hundreds of other civilians and members of the security forces. Loyalist paramilitaries the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) and Ulster Defence Association (UDA) claimed that the killings they carried out were in retaliation to the PIRA campaign. Most of their victims were Roman Catholic civilians unconnected to the Provisional IRA. A particularly notorious group, based on the Shankill Road in the mid-1970s became known as the Shankill Butchers. In all, over one thousand five hundred people were killed in political violence in the city from 1969 until 2001. Part of the legacy of the Troubles is that both republican and loyalist paramilitary groups in Belfast have become involved in organised crime and racketeering.

Historically, societal fears of gangs have centered around frameworks which argue that effects like increased mass production, consumption, democracy, and communication lead to the rise of organised crime groups.{{Cite book|last=Humphries|first=Stephen|title=Hooligans or Rebels? An Oral History of Working-Class Childhood and Youth 1889-1939|publisher=Basil Blackwell Inc.|year=1981|location=New York|pages=4–15}}  There was a general consensus among the middle classes that there was increasing violence among working-class men due to these forces during the late 19th century.{{Cite book|last=Humphries|first=Stephen|title=Hooligans or Rebels? An Oral History of Working-Class Childhood and Youth 1889-1939|publisher=Basil Blackwell Inc.|year=1981|location=New York|pages=8}} Newspapers used inflammatory language to convey a sense of lawlessness and excessive violence among working-class towns which added to these growing assumptions.{{Cite book|last=Humphries|first=Stephen|title=Hooligans or Rebels? An Oral History of Working-Class Childhood and Youth 1889-1939|publisher=Basil Blackwell Inc.|year=1981|location=New York|pages=174–175}} The widely held belief of British intellectuals in the 20th century was that gangs reflected the working-class rejection of middle-class traditional values and norms.{{Cite book|last=Humphries|first=Stephen|title=Hooligans or Rebels? An Oral History of Working-Class Childhood and Youth 1889-1939|publisher=Basil Blackwell Inc.|year=1981|location=New York|pages=176}} This view contributed to the way experts studied gangs throughout the 20th century and served as proof of innate immorality around working-class citizens.

Two historians have done extensive research in this field and represent two different views of the underlying causes of the rise in gang culture between the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.  Stephen Humphries argues that these early groups can be seen as results of “social crime”.  For the working class, they viewed these crimes as righteous and justified against a society that had left them to struggle. It was therefore fair for them to steal what they had been deprived of.  According to Humphries, gangs were a way for the working-class youth to respond to feelings of insignificance that came with living in a large, uniform industrial town with no way of escape. 

Petty crimes were a way to respond to all of the top-down authority they were receiving from factory managers, teachers, the police, and the government. His analysis of interviews with former gang members led him to the idea that gangs allowed working-class youths to feel rebellious and also express a need to resist the monotonous nature of industrial towns.  Building on this idea, Andrew Davies argues that the concept of masculinity among working-class men prompted this behaviour, and was a way for members to prove themselves to their peers.{{Cite journal|last=Davies|first=Andrew|date=Winter 1998|title=Youth Gangs, Masculinity and Violence in Late Victorian Manchester and Salford|journal=Journal of Social History|volume=32|issue=2|pages=350–354|doi=10.1353/jsh/32.2.349|jstor=3789665}} He connects acts of violence committed in the household to idealised criminals in popular culture at the time that would have contributed to the working-class idea of masculinity. However, in other works he notes how many women took part in organised crimes, thus proving that this idea was not the only motive of gang crime.

In 2014, the Runnymede Trust suggested that despite the well-rehearsed public discourse around modern youth gangs and "gang culture":

We actually know very little about 'gangs' in the UK: about how 'a gang' might be defined or understood, about what being in 'a gang' means... We know still less about how 'the gang' links to levels of youth violence.{{cite web|last=Runnymede Trust|title=(Re)thinking Gangs|url=http://www.runnymedetrust.org/uploads/publications/pdfs/RethinkingGangs-2008.pdf|access-date=29 January 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120623041504/http://www.runnymedetrust.org/uploads/publications/pdfs/RethinkingGangs-2008.pdf|archive-date=23 June 2012|url-status=live}}

Professor Simon Hallsworth argues that where they exist, gangs in the UK are "far more fluid, volatile and amorphous than the myth of the organised group with a corporate structure". This assertion is supported by a field study conducted by Manchester University, which found that, "most within- and between-gang disputes... emanated from interpersonal disputes regarding friends, family and romantic relationships", as opposed to territorial rivalries, and that criminal enterprises were "rarely gang-coordinated... most involved gang members operating as individuals or in small groups".

Cottrell-Boyce, writing in the Youth Justice journal, argues that gangs have been constructed as a "suitable enemy" by politicians and the media, obscuring the wider, structural roots of youth violence. At the level of enforcement, a focus on gang membership may be counterproductive; creating confusion and resulting in a drag-net approach which can criminalise innocent young people rather than focusing resources on serious violent crime.

• British firms (organised crime)
• Triads in the United Kingdom
• Crime in the United Kingdom

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{{Organized crime groups in Europe}}

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