Urban Gang Dynamics: Exploring the Impact of Criminal Governance from London Gangs

• In Event: Eurogang WG Session

Abstract

Not all urban gangs are created equal, nor do they behave identically. Recent studies suggest that some urban gangs establish criminal governance within local communities, leading to complex crime patterns. This paper leverages a novel survey conducted among London police officers, combined with official Census and Deprivation data from London, to reveal crime patterns at various community levels. Initially, we identify the spatial distribution of gangs in London, differentiating between those involved in governance and those that are not. We then employ a matching comparison to evaluate the heterogeneous effects of governance-type gangs and non-governance-type gangs on selected crime types. Our findings indicate that communities with governance-type gang presence generally show lower crime rates compared to matched communities with non-governance gangs. We also examine the socio-economic and demographic factors associated with these divergent crime patterns.

Authors

• Fanqi Zeng, University of Oxford

• Federico Varese, Sciences Po