The purpose of this essay is to discuss what the Chicago School and classical gang theorists can explain about British gangs today and whether or not their ideas are relevant to the current situation in the United Kingdom. Since the early 2000s, researchers have noticed an emerging gang problem in the UK. According to John Heale, who has studied British gangs in detail, the term refers to "a group of about 10 or more individuals who have a name and who claim allegiance to a geographical area" (De Castella and McClatchey, 2011: 1). Gangs have sprung up in disadvantaged communities that have distanced themselves from executive power. They are perceived as a threat as they are often linked to drugs and violence (Harding, 2014: 92). Although the UK Home Office does not have official statistics regarding the extent of the current gang problem in the UK, it estimates that around 6% of children aged 10 to 19 belong to a gang (De Castella and McClatchey , 2011: 1). In 2007, the Metropolitan Police estimated that there were 171 gangs in London, while in 2008 Strathclyde Police recorded that 170 gangs existed in Glasgow and that 3,500 young people aged between 11 and 23 were members of these gangs (De Castella and McClatchey, 2011 : 1). Gangs are a significant problem in London. For example, in Waltham Forest alone John Pitts estimated that between 600 and 700 young people were gang members (De Castella and McClatchey, 2011: 1). It is clear that there is a certain degree of similarity between these emerging UK gangs and the established US gang culture. According to one US expert: When we talk about gangs, we are talking about quasi-institutionalized structures within the poorest minority communities (Hagedorn, 1988: 6). General observations suggest that the UK has gang... middle of paper... ....confirmed by Hagedorn's (1988) case study of gang culture in Milwaukee. In the UK, this suggests that economic recession and a lack of opportunities for young people from poor backgrounds have led to gang culture. Thrasher (1936) noted that gangs form among young males. This is demonstrated by modern UK statistics on gangs; Although recent statistics make no reference to gender, it is clear that the majority of gang members are under the age of 25, suggesting that the recent gang problem is the result of young people's dissatisfaction with the social and economic aspects of their lives . As the lower members of society will be increasingly affected by economic downturns and so on, the UK should seek to learn from US examples in terms of how to identify gang behavior and link this to what exact situations could potentially lead to a culture of bands..