Precis 2) Crimes of the Big Four Motorcycle Gangs

  In his aticle, Thomas, Barker " The largest and most consistently radical [criminal] of all 1% clubs" (Quinn,2001 p. 380) The Big Four ( Hells Angels, Outlaws, Bandidos, and Pagons). Riding motorcycles, a favorite pastime for many, has evolved and has become a deviant subcultural way of life for some of the most vicious people. For most riders they join together in clubs, groups and interest associations. One can divide motorcycle clubs into conventional and deviant (Barker, 2007). Conventional club members behave according to the norms of society they ride based upon their common interest in motorcycles, riding together for the pleasure of one anothers company. Over time, groups of deviant motorcyclists evolved into a subculture of bikers labeled by others and themselves as 1% bikers of Outlaw motorcycle clubs (Barker, 2007). There has been few empirical studies of these outlaw mortorcycle clubs/gangs. The usual research method of surveys, interviews, and field study was not applicable to these dangerous and deviant individuals. So to conduct this research a content anaysis of newspaper articles was chosen to collect data using a LexisNexis newspaper search. Here are some highlights. Three hundred one of the 631 articles (48%) contained eighty nine accounts of criminal incidents where a member or members of the Big Four motorcycle clubs committed an illegal act. The most common illegal acts involved drug trafficking, racketeering, brawling, various weapons charges, and murder. The Pagans have been involved with organized crime groups including the Italian Mafia. There are also been ties to the White Supremacist prison gang, the Aryan Brotherhood (Holthouse, 2005).

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0047235209000191