Organized Crime in London

quixote100104 · May 6, 2009

Greetings

,

Can anyone reccomend any good resources on getting a feel for organized crime in the UK, particularly London in the 1960s and 70s, and specifcially it's involvement in the gambling industry?

Thanks

,

waylander · May 6, 2009

http://www.gangland.net/ukgangland.htm
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0099699516/?tag=absolutewrite-21

Momento Mori · May 6, 2009

You might want to see about getting a copy of London’s Underworld: Three Centuries of Vice and Crime by Fergus Linnane. It's a comprehensive book but it does cover the organised crime families from the 1960s and 1970s. West End Chronicles and East End Chronicles (both by Ed Glinert) also touch on the involvement of crime and may be worth getting through the library.

From a fiction point of view, The Long Firm by Jake Arnott is well researched and he based his characters on the Kray Twins (a notorious East End crime gang).

MM

quixote100104 · May 7, 2009

Thanks to both of you. The links gave me some names to start googling and I already have that book on my list via Amazon

.

Scrawler · May 11, 2009

There's also a movie about the Krays
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0099951/

ideagirl · May 12, 2009

quixote100104 said:
Greetings ,

Can anyone reccomend any good resources on getting a feel for organized crime in the UK, particularly London in the 1960s and 70s, and specifcially it's involvement in the gambling industry?

Thanks ,

Read about the brothers Kray, also known as the Kray twins. They ruled the East End with iron fists in the 1960s. A working-class East Londoner of my acquaintance once explained something interesting to me: the brothers Kray were extremely violent, but with principles, not at random; when they were in control, East London was actually a very safe place in some respects, because if there was a rape, or an old lady had her purse snatched, etc., the brothers Kray would find out through the grape vine who was responsible, and BEAT that person to within an INCH of their LIVES.

Aschenbach · May 13, 2009

ideagirl said:
Read about the brothers Kray, also known as the Kray twins. They ruled the East End with iron fists in the 1960s. A working-class East Londoner of my acquaintance once explained something interesting to me: the brothers Kray were extremely violent, but with principles, not at random; when they were in control, East London was actually a very safe place in some respects, because if there was a rape, or an old lady had her purse snatched, etc., the brothers Kray would find out through the grape vine who was responsible, and BEAT that person to within an INCH of their LIVES.

That is exactly the same self-justification the mafia use. "We never let a little old lady get turned over. A nonce? We'll truncheon your face in." Policing should be the responsibility of the police, not a criminal gang. No disrespect, but you are spreading a myth about the Krays. They were murderous men and all this guff about protecting their communities was exactly that; a myth. The East End was dangerous because of people like the Krays, they certainly weren't a force for good.

quixote100104 · May 13, 2009

Aschenbach said:
That is exactly the same self-justification the mafia use. "We never let a little old lady get turned over. A nonce? We'll truncheon your face in." Policing should be the responsibility of the police, not a criminal gang. No disrespect, but you are spreading a myth about the Krays. They were murderous men and all this guff about protecting their communities was exactly that; a myth. The East End was dangerous because of people like the Krays, they certainly weren't a force for good.

For it to be a myth, it would have to be untrue. Is that what you are saying, that they and/or thier organization did not come down on street criminals, etc in their area? I ask because this is something I've seen in a number of seemingly reliable sources and it seems both good buisness and personal practice, from the gang's perspective. Even bad guys want thier families to feel safe in thier own neighborhood.

In terms of justification, I'd agree. Policing unuthorized predation on citizens in their area doesn't justify the existance of a violent, criminal organization, but that wasn't the feel I got from Ideagirl's post.

Organized Crime in London

quixote100104

waylander

Who's going for a beer?

Momento Mori

Tired and Disillusioned

quixote100104

Scrawler

Bored fanatic

ideagirl

Aschenbach

Moral Marjorie

quixote100104