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From Bikers to Gangsters: On the Development of and the Public Response to Outlaw Biker Clubs in Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium

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Outlaw Motorcycle Clubs and Street Gangs

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

Abstract

Over the past decades, outlaw biker clubs have become widely labeled as organized crime groups. This chapter analyzes the interplay between the increasing internationalization of outlaw biker clubs, outlaw biker involvement in organized crime, their self-created dangerous image and the dominant policies to tackle outlaw biker-related crime. It is argued that the approach to outlaw bikers in Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium has increasingly focused on outlaw biker clubs rather than individual members, including groups copying their appearance. This trend of monitoring and tackling clubs is characterized by utilizing responsibilization strategies and pro-active administrative measures in light of risk management and crime prevention ideologies. Whereas the very first biker clubs in Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium were generally tolerated, the currently existing clubs are confronted with an all-encompassing zero-tolerance approach.

The first author has written the chapter and the second and third author, as supervisors for the ongoing PhD research, have provided feedback.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    The bordering countries have been selected in the context of a larger, ongoing PhD research project in the Meuse-Rhine Euregion.

  2. 2.

    Since the first Blue Angels chapter was installed in Glasgow already in 1963.

  3. 3.

    On the basis of Article 9 (2) of the German Constitutional Law and §3 (1) of the Association Act .

  4. 4.

    On the basis of Article 129 of the German Criminal Code.

  5. 5.

    Most notably, the Québec biker war from 1994 until 2002, which claimed far over 100 lives; and the Great Nordic biker war from 1983 until 1985 and later from 1994 until 1997, with dozens of deaths and approximately 100 wounded.

  6. 6.

    The Moluccas had been part of the Dutch Indies. Moluccan men who had served in the Royal Dutch military against the insurgence of Indonesia after the Second World War were brought to the Netherlands. There, they had been collectively discharged as soldiers and struggled to settle in society.

  7. 7.

    On the basis of article 1 and 1bis of the Act of July 29th, 1934.

  8. 8.

    ECLI:NL:HR:2011:BP2720; Article 140 of the Dutch Criminal Code.

  9. 9.

    ECLI:NL:GHSHE:2008:BD0560; Article 2:20 of the Dutch Civil Code.

  10. 10.

    ECLI:NL:HR:2009:BI1124.

  11. 11.

    ECLI:NL:RBMNE:2017:6241.

  12. 12.

    Successful projects included the Van Traa-project regarding prostitution and related crime in Amsterdam, the Hector-project regarding drugs Venlo, the Aleida-project regarding dishonest real estate entrepreneurs and the first Regional Expertise and Information Centre regarding the administrative approach in the Southern part of Limburg (Huisman 2010, 47).

  13. 13.

    This is not to say that a potential criminal biker would have to encounter all layers of defense, or that the public prosecutor—and therefore criminal law—is a last resort. The example of the football field merely illustrates how persons tasked with essentially different purposes work together in order to achieve the same goal: to minimize the risk of fruitful opportunities for criminals.

  14. 14.

    Versterking aanpak georganiseerde misdaad (2007); Bestuurlijke aanpak georganiseerde misdaad (2008).

  15. 15.

    Kamerstukken II, 2011/12, 29911, 71.

  16. 16.

    On the basis of article 175 (directed at a select group of people) or 176 (directed at anyone) of the Municipal Law.

  17. 17.

    These bans of individual chapters are based on article 9(2) of the Constitutional law and paragraph 3(1) of the Association law.

  18. 18.

    For example, on the famous Christmas market in Aachen, it was prohibited for outlaw bikers to wear their colors in most of the city center for a large portion of the day during multiple weeks (WDR1 2016). Such an insignia ban is based on a general administrative decree.

  19. 19.

    The same is true for ‘terrorist organizations ’, or to a lesser extent, ‘travelling criminal groups’.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Maastricht University, Maastricht, Netherlands

    Kim Geurtjens, Hans Nelen & Miet Vanderhallen

  2. Antwerp University, Antwerpen, Belgium

    Miet Vanderhallen

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  1. Kim Geurtjens
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  2. Hans Nelen
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  3. Miet Vanderhallen
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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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Geurtjens, K., Nelen, H., Vanderhallen, M. (2018). From Bikers to Gangsters: On the Development of and the Public Response to Outlaw Biker Clubs in Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. 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_5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-76120-6_5

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