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Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs: Tattoo-Laden Misfits or Sophisticated Criminals?

NCJ Number
171589
Journal
Crime and Justice International Volume: 13 Issue: 9 Dated: October 1997 Pages: 10-13
Author(s)
G. Scaramella; M. Brenzinger; P. Miller
Date Published
October 1997
Length
4 pages
Annotation
This article examines the history, characteristics, and criminal activities of outlaw motorcycle gangs (OMGs) throughout the world.
Abstract
The world's first introduction to OMGs occurred in 1947 in Hollister, CA, where a motorcycle rally turned violent after local police arrested a gang member. Following the arrest, the members of the gang, later reorganized as the Hell's Angels, formed a mob and demanded the release of their comrade. When their demands were not met they literally destroyed the town. The gang members were World War II veterans who had become bored with civilian life and failed to adapt to it. Since then, these gangs have changed from a hedonistic lifestyle to a life of greed that has led to a sophisticated international criminal organization. Over the years, more and more chapters of the Hell's Angels emerged. Today they form the largest, richest, most sophisticated and infamous OMG in the world. The Outlaws, the second largest OMG and currently the most violent, were formed in Joliet, Ill., in 1959. Like the Hell's Angels, they have expanded internationally, but on a smaller scale. Other OMGs are the Bandidos (third largest) and the Pagans (fourth largest). OMGs are successful in their criminal pursuits because of their propensity to use violence to achieve their goals. Law enforcement officials believe that the Italian Mafia uses the bikers as intimidators and hit men. The Mafia also pays them to conduct such violent tactics as arson, bombings, murder, and extortion to assist in the manufacture and distribution of narcotics. The gang's primary source of income, however, is the manufacture and distribution of methamphetamine and the trafficking of cocaine. Most law enforcement agencies agree that these gangs virtually dominate the methamphetamine market on an international level. Today, larger OMGs are better equipped, more organized, and more efficient than many of the police agencies that investigate them. Biker gangs in Europe (Austria, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden) are briefly described.