Hello! Today, as Kezzia said, I am going to talk about gang crime around the world. Gang crime is not a huge issue in these parts of England, but in other parts, such as London, and other countries, such as America, gang crime can be a very large problem for many.
Gangs, in general, are not illegal. Although, gang crime; a very different story, is.
Firstly, going back to what Kezzia said, but in more detail - what is gang crime? More importantly, what is a gang? A gang can just be a group of friends meeting together to play; but it can also be more sinister in the dark streets of London. A gang can be just playing in a little roadside den, or a large mafia operation...

Crime rates are significantly lower in England than America, and significantly lower too in areas like Caistor than in places like London.
What is the origin of gangs?
The word ‘thug’ goes back to the year 1200 AD in India, referring to a team of criminals (The Thugz) that roamed the country pillaging and robbing towns in their path. The ‘Thugz’ had their own symbols, rituals, slang and even hand signs. Because of this, Gangs are obviously not a new concept.
What kind of thing do you think of, when someone says the word ‘Gang’?
Probably crime, weapons, drugs and violence. I bet you can’t think of anything positive, anything good about gangs, can you?
Why would anyone join a gang?
You may think it quite silly to join a gang, a constant chance of being arrested, the weight of being a criminal on your shoulders, why would you want to? Well, here are some reasons many people do join gangs:
•	Free stuff. People will join gangs to get free things, whether it be a game, food, a TV, who knows? People do it.
•	Popularity. People join gangs to seem cool and popular with people living nearby, or friends and people at school.
•	Friends. Some join gangs to have friends, but get wrapped up into the bad, illegal criminal side of it.
•	Peer Pressure. Friends may harass people into joining a gang.
•	Territory. Places where they can go to be with friends and do whatever they want.
•	Acceptance. Maybe they do not feel safe around other normal people, maybe they just don’t like them.
•	Action. Some people just want some of the action, the adventure that comes with being in a gang.



Some gang crime is caused by younger people, a lot of the time this is because the average child spends more time watching T.V. than in a classroom, and a lot of programs on T.V. are about things such as gangs, violence and other things alike. In these cartoons, normally the ‘good guys’ have the criminals put into jail, but this isn’t always the case in real life. A lot of the time many people are harmed, both the criminals and the police.

Are all criminals in gangs?
Not all,	but many are, as for them, being in a gang gives a lot of pros and cons. Such as the pros:
•	Gangsters have protection by their fellow gang members.
•	They can be supplied with weapons easier.
And the cons:
•	Police will instantly target any gang that has committed a crime, and will arrest all members, whether they are a criminal or not.
•	Undercover police may discover them easily; this cannot happen to someone alone.