History of Gangs
The majority of gangs in the United kingdom that are involved in organised crime are centered around; London, Birmingham, Liverpool, Leeds, Bradford, Bristol, Nottingham, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Manchester.
Birmingham
Gang culture grew in Birmingham in the 1980's, most of these are of ethnic background. They came about to protect themselves from the far right parties such as the National Front. Some of the gangs in Birmingham are the 'Burger Bar Boys, Johnson Crew, Cash For Money Crew and the Soldiers of Sodom'. These are all out to claim their share of the Birmingham drug trade. On New Years Eve 2003, a drive-by shooting took place in the Birchfield area and claimed the lives of two teenage girls, Charlene Ellis and Letisha Shakesphere. They were two innocent girls, who had no connection with gangs whatsoever.
Liverpool
Street gangs have been around in Liverpool since the mid 19th century. One of the earliest was the 'cornermen gang', they were poor people who lived in terrible housing conditions, who used to hang around street corners. Other gangs that emerged from the street were the 'Hibernians and Dead Rabbits'. One of the most famous was the High Rip Gang; organised, and that caused fear within other gangs. The gangs of yesteryears lived in a differnet world to modern day living and today's Liverpool gangs such as the Croxteth Crew and the Norris Green crew, are there for completely different reasons. A turf war had erupted within Liverpool due to explosion of organised crime and heroin abuse. The need to control the drug trade resulted in a total of 3,387 firearms offences between 1997 and 2001. In August 2007 the ongoing war between the Croxteth Crew and the Norris Green Crew resulted in the death of an innocent 11 year old boy called Rhys Jones, he was shot in the neck and died in his mothers arms. Sean Mercer was convited of murder and recieved a minimum tariff of 22 years.
London
Modern street gangs have been in existence in London since the 1980's, they were first seen as a sub-culture in the form of 'punks, rasta's and football hooligans. Some of the street gangs that exixt today are the 'Cherry Boys, Ghetto Boys, Peckham Boys, Tamil Snake Gang and the Yardie'. The Cherry Boys were founded in the 90's and are of Afro-Caribbean origin, their criminal activities include; drug trafficking, murder and robbery. Their rivals are the Woolwich Boys. The Ghetto Boys were founded in the 80's and are primarily of Black British origin. Their rivals are the Cherry Boys, mainly due to the fact that they embark in the same criminal activity as them. The Peckham Boys again are primarily of Black British origin, and their rivals have changed over the years, and have had fierce battles with gangs from Brixton and also disputes with the Ghetto Boys. More recently though their main rivals are the OC (Organised Crime). The Tamil Snake Gang were one of the first Tamil gangs organised by men who sought asylum in the United Kingdom. The Yardies are of Black Carribean origin and the behaviour of Jamicans, in terms of gang violence, became known as the 'Yardie Culture'. Yardie gangs are known for their involvement in gun crime and the illegal drug trade, more notably marijuana and crack cocaine. Yardie gangs have also appeared in Birmingham, Bristol and Nottingham.
Manchester
The first recorded gangs in Manchester were the 'Scuttlers' during the second half of the 19th century, but it wasn't until the mid 1980's, that a growth in violence between Black British youths and their rivals the West Indians, began to gain media attention. This is believed to be due to the supply and demand of heroin in the late seventies and early eighties. The drug trade very quickly became very lucrative and a gang war started between two gangs, these being the Cheetham Hill Gang and the Gooch Close Gang. Another gang that emerged was the Pepperhill Gang, who later became the Doddington due to police targeting them. Other gangs were the Pitt Bull Crew and the Longsight Crew. All of these gangs were involved in the same criminal activity (drug trade), and this is why there was so much conflict between them all. Shootings, stabbings and kidnapping are just some of the problems that occur due the territorial war that was going on, and is still going on.
