"Pulling the Teams Out of the Dark Room": The Politicisation of the Mongrel Mob (From Gangs and Youth Subcultures: International Explorations, P 245-266, 1998, Kayleen Hazlehurst and Cameron Hazlehurst, eds. -- See NCJ-180177)

• NCJ Number: 180187
• Author(s): Pahmi Winter
• Date Published: 1998
• Length: 22 pages
• Sale Source: Transaction Publishers
• Publication Format: Book (Hardbound)
• Publication Type: Issue Overview
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This is a case study of the Mongrel Mob in New Zealand and the emergence of a positive development ethos within the gang.

Abstract

It is the ethnic gangs of predominantly Maori membership that most New Zealanders associate with the term "gang" and its connotations of violence and lawlessness. The emergence of the Mongrel Mob and other gangs within New Zealand society can be linked to the structural and economic upheavals of industrialization and urbanization following World War II. The Mongrel Mob and other mainly Maori gangs increased after 1975, as economic conditions worsened and rising unemployment exacerbated socioeconomic pressures on Maori. In 1992 the Mongrel Mob Advisory Panel (MAP) was formed to provide Mob members with the means of pursuing "legitimate channels to success" through better access to social services, employment, recreation, education, and vocational training. MAP provided assistance even to Mob members who were in prison. While the MAP "positive development" initiative has had some success in reducing offending and improving the quality of life for its members, desistance from crime by gang members is dependent upon their being allowed the opportunity to find a place within society. Reconciliation and healing require a commitment on both sides. References, notes