Gangstas or Lager Louts? Working Class Street Gangs in Manchester

Abstract

Presently there is still little known about street gangs in Britain. The British do not perceive street gangs as part of their “civilized” society, which partly accounts for the lack of coherent research into this subject. Crime in general and gangs specifically are often associated with an alien “Other” (cf. Pearson, 1983). Not surprisingly, a few reports on street gangs in Britain point to ethnic youths in inner city slum areas.