What gangs are there in england

Though he has never been convicted of murder, Dominic is currently in prison for arson, blackmail, perverting the course of justice and for sexual offences against underage boys. Also known as the Adams Family or A-Team, the group is known for being heavily involved in drug trafficking, extortion, hijacking of gold bullion shipments, security fraud and blackmail, and are thought to frequently murder informants and rival criminals.

TV A new online only channel for history lovers. Sign Me Up. Jack Spot and his wife Rita receive congratulations after his acquittal at trial, 29 Feb Dan headed up to Birmingham to meet bestselling author and celebrity local historian Carl Chinn to learn the true history behind 19th century Birmingham's most notorious gang members: the Peaky Blinders. London's West End attracts people from across the world to its many theatres, restaurants and famous nightlife but how did this centre of pleasure come to be?

You May Also Like. Others, like essayist Jonathan Swift, questioned whether such a gang even existed at all — he argued that the panic surrounding them was a form of mass hysteria. To many historians, it seems likely that if such attacks ever did take place, they were few and certainly not the work of an organised gang.

Although more and more gangs are getting involved in activities such as gun smuggling, people trafficking and money laundering, a great deal of organised crime in the UK is bound up in the control and supply of drugs.

One of the first such laws came in , when concern over drugs taken by off-duty soldiers led to an amendment to the Defence of the Realm Act. But did Robin Hood ever exist? The first known mention of such a figure comes in when a fugitive called Robert Hod is reported to have failed to appear before the York assizes. Evidence suggests that by the second half of the 13th century Robin Hood or variants of that name was being used as a nickname, applied to other criminals, and the man of the legend was actually based on a number of people, all merged together under a single name.

The real Peaky Blinders gang operated from the end of the 19th century until the start of World War I , fighting other Birmingham gangs for dominance over territories in the city.

Their signature outfit included tailored jackets, silk scarves and, of course, peaked flat caps. Andrew Davies discusses the Birmingham gangsters who inspired the BBC drama, and explains how late-Victorian society contributed to a rise in gang violence. The South London gang, led in the s by Eddie and Charlie Richardson, was at least as prolific as that of the Krays and certainly more violent. Operating from behind the cover of a scrap metal business they controlled a criminal empire involving protection racketeering and drug dealing.

The pair were arrested in following a murderous brawl in Catford, and at their subsequent trial accounts were given of the tortures Fraser had inflicted on those who had crossed his bosses. These included electric shocks and the painful use of pliers. Like many youth groups, the Scuttlers developed a distinctive appearance, wearing colourful neckerchiefs and long fringes. He died in his bed from natural causes aged 61, in In , the police seized the largest LSD haul in history largely thanks to the efforts of one of their officers, who spent two and a half years posing as a hippy in order to infiltrate the gang producing and distributing the drug.

Efforts have also been made to infiltrate gangs of football hooligans — an extremely risky job requiring an in-depth knowledge of the football team in question.

In Victorian times, the big cities of London, Glasgow, Manchester and Birmingham were not the only places to be plagued by gangs of fighting youths. Did the Peaky Blinders really sew razor blades into their flat caps and use them to slash the foreheads of their enemies, causing blood to pour down into their eyes and blind them?

Almost certainly not. Gang expert Prof John Pitts estimates some to young people are part of gangs in the London borough of Waltham Forest alone. At least half of the 27 murders of teenagers in London in were gang-related, according to the Metropolitan Police. The majority of Britons will have little or no direct experience of gangs but they are still frightened and fascinated by them in equal measure. Generally, the risk of becoming a crime victim in Britain today is at a year low.

There has been a long-term downward trend in crime, including violent offences, since the mids. Heale says the high levels of crime are happening within certain areas of our cities. The wider public is insulated from it until the riots this year. There are periodic outbreaks of alarm over gangs.

The last large-scale wave of concern came in with several high-profile murders, including that of year-old Rhys Jones who was shot in the neck as he walked home from football practice in Liverpool. This summer's riots in several English cities have put gangs firmly back in the headlines and on the political agenda. He describes them as a "stubborn" problem that shows no sign of going away. He says there are four or five groups of young people who define themselves by their postcode and will only move to different areas with the protection of their group.

Violence boils up quickly from small issues of disrespect and soon becomes a cycle that will continue for several years. We have a spike in gangs and knife crime across England and things seem to be getting worse! Over young people have died on our street this year alone, this is one of the highest rates across the world.

Studies show that school exclusions have contributed to rising gang crime Independent. The latest statistics revealed a 12 per cent rise in the number of homicides, a 16 per cent increase in knife crime and a 30 per cent increase in robbery.