The boredom of gangs in Glasgow.

Glasgow is notorious for its gang and violent culture. This view of the city stretches as far back as the late 1800s and more recently the story of Glasgow gang ‘The Billy Boys’ even featured in the popular TV series, ‘Peaky Blinders’. Infamous Glasgow gangland figures have also been portrayed in films such as ‘The Wee Man’ which tells the story of former underworld figure Paul Ferris, who is played by Martin Compston. A recent study by Johanne Miller of the University of the West of Scotland published in The British Journal of Criminology, suggests gangs in Glasgow today are feeling the effects of boredom. The large scale survey on Glasgow gangs represented 21 different gangs across the city. Up to 60 gang members were interviewed (20 agreed to in-depth interviews) to understand the role of boredom in relation to gang activity and membership.

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Gang members were recruited for participation through intervention programmes along with street work, youth clubs and employability initiatives. Participants were aged between 12 and 25 and the sample was made up of…