The phenomenon of gangsterism in the context of motorcycle gangs

Abstract

The study concerns the phenomenon of gangsterism. The author presents the problem from the social and criminological perspective. The article includes, among others, a review of gang defi nitions and twin concepts, as well as typologies and classifi cations of the analysed criminal forms. The considerations in the article refer to the phenomenon of motorcycle clubs/ gangs. The author signals a number of practical problems connected with distinguishing the above mentioned structures and stresses the importance of knowledge of the aetiology of the phenomenon for a proper legal assessment of behaviours associated with the concept of a motorcycle gang.