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Outlaw Motorcycle Clubs and Street Gangs pp 69–91Cite as

Palgrave Macmillan

Dutch Gang Talk: A Reflection on the Use of the Gang Label in the Netherlands

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Part of the book series: Palgrave Studies in Risk, Crime and Society ((PSRCS))

Abstract

Roks and Van Ruitenburg notice that while Dutch state agencies have long been reluctant toward using the gang label, as of 2013, groups of bikers are referred to as ‘outlaw motorcycle gangs’ (OMCGs). The authors touch upon different aspects of ‘gang talk’ in the Netherlands. After tracing the history of the application of the term in the Netherlands, they explore two additional dimensions of gang talk by drawing on the results of two empirical studies. First, they describe how the Dutch Rollin 200 Crips have actively sought out the gang label, rather than having it cast upon them by others. In addition, they show how some of the Dutch OMCGs referred to as gangs and criminal organizations have actively resisted these labels in both the media and court. Roks and Van Ruitenburg conclude with problematizing the usage of the gang label by various actors involved in gang talk in the Netherlands.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Since these Crips call themselves a gang and gang members, we concur with Garot, who states that ‘however much we may want to avoid or sidestep this loaded four-letter word, if we hope to take members’ meanings seriously, we are left with many young people who call their group a gang, a group with which others (…) most come to terms’ (Garot 2010, 178). Secondly, from a more positivistic stance, albeit not the epistemological tradition inspiring this research, these Dutch Crips adhere to most of the prevailing international definitions of what constitutes a gang. In particular, they fall within the range of the Eurogang definition of a (street) gang as ‘any durable, street-oriented group, whose involvement in illegal activities is part of their group identity ’ (Van Gemert et al. 2008, 5).

  2. 2.

    For a more information on the ‘birthplace of the American Biker’ (Barker 2015, 17), see also (Thompson 1966; Barker 2015; McBee 2015; Yates 2007; Fuglsang 2001; Lyng and Bracey 1995).

  3. 3.

    The report was named after its initiator Thomas C. Lynch, the Attorney General of the State California.

  4. 4.

    Because the youngsters of K.P.O. were infamous for their violent behavior and street fights, the group became known as ‘knokploeg-oost’ (loosely translated: ‘fight squad east’). Although these youngsters began to call themselves the Hells Angels at the start of the 1970s, the group were only officially recognized as a Hells Angels Chapter in 1978. This official acknowledgment followed after a long period where the Dutch youngsters had to visit several other HA chapters in Europe, as well as the Hells Angels MC in the United States .

  5. 5.

    See for instance: Court of Amsterdam, 11 April 2007; Court of Maastricht, 29 May 2007; Court of Leeuwarden, 6 March 2007.

  6. 6.

    In a report of the Dutch National Police, the following clubs were listed: Hells Angels MC , Animals MC, Black Sheep MC , Demons MC , Gringos MC, Rebel Crew MC, Red Devils MC, Rogues MC , Spiders MC, Trailer Trash MC , Veterans MC , Waardeloos MC, Satudarah MC, No Surrender MC , Bandidos MC .

  7. 7.

    It has been noted by the Dutch National Police that OMCGs adopted the 1%-label after the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) used it to mark a distinction between the 1% (deviant) and 99% (law abiding citizens) of all motorcyclists (National Police 2010, 9). As it turned out that the AMA never made such an official statement, it seems that the Dutch National Police equally reproduced the ‘feature story ’ of the outlaw biker ‘myth ’ (Dulaney 2006, 53; Kuldova 2017a, 388–90).

  8. 8.

    An inventory of the police of The Hague in 2011 reported 35 troublesome, 22 nuisances, and 9 criminal youth groups in The Hague (The Hague Police 2011). None of these groups, however, could be seen as a rival group or gang.

  9. 9.

    The president of Satudarah, Henk Kuipers, currently is ‘captain’ of No Surrender M.C. Member of Parliament, Jeanine Hennis Plasschaert (VVD), currently holds the position of Minister of Defense.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Erasmus University of Rotterdam, Rotterdam, Netherlands

    Robert A. Roks & Teun Van Ruitenburg

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  1. Robert A. Roks
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Oslo, Blindern, Oslo, Norway

    Tereza Kuldova

  2. University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA

    Martín Sánchez-Jankowski

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Roks, R.A., Van Ruitenburg, T. (2018). Dutch Gang Talk: A Reflection on the Use of the Gang Label in the Netherlands. In: Kuldova, T., Sánchez-Jankowski, M. (eds) Outlaw Motorcycle Clubs and Street Gangs. Palgrave Studies in Risk, Crime and Society. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-76120-6_4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-76120-6_4

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