We Asked Some Former Gang Members for the Truth About London’s Gangs
By Nick Chester | Vice.com
November 05, 2015
“London in Peril from Drug Gang Turf Wars” read a headline on Sky News a couple of weeks ago. Usually when an article title implies that a major city is facing imminent doom due to anything short of an earthquake or a substantiated terror attack, I file it away in a little box in my brain marked “fear-mongering bullshit” and read no further.
However, this time curiosity got the better of me and I clicked through. The content was nothing new—”crime is out of control,” “you should live in constant fear of gangs,” “do not, for any reason, leave your home,” etc, etc—but what did catch my eye was an accompanying map that purported to show all of the gangs in East London. These gangs all had names like “Hindle House Thugs,” “E3 Bloods,” and “True Tredegar Thugs,” along with their own color codes.
Given that a gang is just a group of people who commit crimes together, was this report trying to imply that the majority of criminal activity in London is carried out by American-style street gangs with hip-hop-inspired names and gang colors? It didn’t seem particularly plausible to me—but then again, I’m no authority on London’s gangs.
Read more here: http://www.vice.com/read/former-gang-members-media-maps-of-londons-gang-territories-820
Related posts:
The 50 Most Asked Questions About Gangs by T. Rodgers
Man beaten by group after asked what gang he was in, police say
The Truth Also Falls Victim to L.A. Gang Violence
Concord teen shot after being asked about gang ties
LA Sheriff Candidate Asked About ‘Gang’ Tattoo at Debate
Jailers are asked how killer was able to strike again
The Truth Behind the Illegal Bloodsport of Cockfighting
The murder of Jamiel Shaw and why the truth is never a smear campaign
Appeals court asked to decide officer-identity case
Posted by 
