Could you have been lured into gangland crime as teenager/child?

freshpopcorn

We often hear the crime boss lure teenagers into the criminal World by showering them with gifts such as dessigner clothes, games consoles, etc. This is how the get them into the underworld to carry out criminal activity for them.

As a teenager I probably wouldn't have been lured into a life of crime mainly because my parents would never have left it happened if they spotted me getting all this stuff that they didn't buy me.
I do believe I would have some idea what was happening at that age. I'd have been very suspicious of somebody giving me gifts in order for me to carry packages for them, etc.
I'd also feel very guilty about doing the slightest thing wrong.
However I was a tad naive at times and if my circumstances did change a lot who knows what could have happened.

Could you have been lured into gangland crime as teenager/child?

Potential-Monke

I'm a country boy, so the liklihood was a lot less than city kids. But, if it wasn't for my parents, I could still be involved. Had a friend who ended up being heavily involved with a major criminal gang in our county, and the parents basically stopped me from hanging out with him when I was 16. So I suppose I could have been, but I probably wouldn't have been able to do half the stuff that 17 year old was. I would find it very hard to perform a victim crime on an innocent person.

Leg End Reject

If I had suddenly acquired expensive things as a child or teen my parents would have reacted immediately. If they found out I was involved with a crime gang I'd have been dragged and kicked to the Garda station, so there was no chance of me ever becoming a gangland statistic.

is_that_so

Nope, would have gone home to ask what drugs were.

Aint Eazy Being Cheezy

Easily. I’m from Drogheda, minutes walk away from where young Keane lived. It’s always been a rough area. I turned to sport, and later, education to get out of it. I still go to Mountjoy a few times a year to visit friends who weren’t so lucky.

Lyan

Teenagers who join these people are genetically criminally disposed. It's nothing to do with circumstance, society, or anything else.

Febreeze

I was honestly too much of an introvert to even associate with my family let alone the outside world. When I did go out with friends, parents needed have worried as I was in my front garden or on my road. To go beyond my road, to even venture to the shops was an adventure to me so if i suddenly came home with things like designer watches or bikes, my parents would be sending me to the guards themselves. The same goes to my children. You could be the riches parents, or poorest but you can still instill the right from wrongs throughout life. It's absolutely shocking the carry on that's been happening but to murder and dismember a 17 year old, you've got to be a psychopath

KiKi III

freshpopcorn wrote: »

We often hear the crime boss lure teenagers into the criminal World by showering them with gifts such as dessigner clothes, games consoles, etc. This is how the get them into the underworld to carry out criminal activity for them.

As a teenager I probably wouldn't have been lured into a life of crime mainly because my parents would never have left it happened if they spotted me getting all this stuff that they didn't buy me.
I do believe I would have some idea what was happening at that age. I'd have been very suspicious of somebody giving me gifts in order for me to carry packages for them, etc.
I'd also feel very guilty about doing the slightest thing wrong.
However I was a tad naive at times and if my circumstances did change a lot who knows what could have happened.

Could you have been lured into gangland crime as teenager/child?

I was incredibly naive. I was groomed online by a sexual predator at 14 with lies so obvious I’m actually able to look back and laugh now (but only because I managed to extract myself from the situation before anything *too* awful happened)

I believed him without question.

I can only imagine given that idiocy I could have been drawn into other stuff by cunning, manipulative adults if it had been going on in my area.

corner of hells

Some of my cousins went to school with and grew up with some of the Crumlin/Drimnagh gang members , however my Aunt was more terrifying than any gang member so my cousins chose a life of education and gainful employment .

endacl

No.

Plumbthedepths

Lyan wrote: »

Teenagers who join these people are genetically criminally disposed. It's nothing to do with circumstance, society, or anything else.

Can you back this up with some research or is it just your opinion?

An interesting question is how come there are lots who come from a not so great situation, didn't gel with school, their lives turn out to be bouncing from social welfare to so so jobs and they still do not get involved with crime.

Those joining gangs or involved in crime are in the minority.

Strumms

No, I was fortunate enough that my parents were on the ball, in education to the dangers of the outside big bad world and always on the ball... I’ve always had a keen radar for trouble, troublesome situations and people who were trouble and untrustworthy.

Doctor Nick

Yes, without a doubt. Came very close only for my parents moving out of the area.

I was bullied a lot as a 12-15 year old, a local gang of scum made my life hell. Couldn't go anywhere without them hopping on me. Attempted to throw me into the liffey one night only adults intervened. Anyway, I started associating with others a tier above this scum and the torment stopped. So I felt secure. These used to knock out a bit of stuff, from weed to harder stuff (but absolutely no smack). From 15-18 my weekends revolved around the rave scene of the early 90's (I still think of this period as the best time I ever had).

At 18 my parents were now very tuned into what my mates were involved with and were not happy. They put the gaf up for sale and moved to the other side of the city. Needless to say I wasn't happy. Within a year of us moving my old gang of mates split in half with both sides accusing the other of a rip. There were a lot of tit for tat shootings with a few deaths. The street I grew up on turned into a war zone. Have a lot of gratitude to my parents for getting tf out of there when they did.

KiKi III

Plumbthedepths wrote: »

Can you back this up with some research or is it just your opinion?

Are you saying you haven’t heard of the gangsta gene?

Doctor Nick

Lyan wrote: »

Teenagers who join these people are genetically criminally disposed. It's nothing to do with circumstance, society, or anything else.

Bull****.

Strumms

Strumms wrote: »

No, I was fortunate enough that my parents were on the ball, in education to the dangers of the outside big bad world and always on the ball... I’ve always had a keen radar for trouble, troublesome situations and people who were trouble and untrustworthy.

That is huge factor as well having the gut instinct to avoid trouble, not being the one outside with a fork when its raining soup.

Plumbthedepths

mariaalice wrote: »

An interesting question is how come there are lots who come from a not so great situation, didn't gel with school, their lives turn out to be bouncing from social welfare to so so jobs and they still do not get involved with crime.

Those joining gangs or involved in crime are in the minority.

I would imagine parents play a big part in how their kids act.
We spent 5 years living in a council house. Majority of our neighbours were sound but there was a few that they and their kids were utter toerags. Our oldest son despite our efforts started knocking around with these a**holes. We decided the only way out was to remove him from their influence. Borrowed for a deposit ( crazy that you could that then) bought a house out the country . Best decision we ever made. Both our sons, grew to love the countryside as do my wife and I. Older son went to college, earned his degree and a master's . He is now 28 ,a serving Garda for the last two years. The gob****es he was hanging around with, two I believe are dead, 1 in prison.

banie01

Have family members that were intimately involved in serious criminality.
I know many people who've been shot, I have had threats against my family home because of actions of family members.
Have had a cousin completely uninvolved in any criminality who coincidentally who was murdered in a case of mistaken identity.

Some of my circle of friends as a teen are amongst the most powerful and connected criminals in the mid-west, some are dead and some are plodding along living a normal life.
I'm harder than all of them, I am smarter than them all too bar maybe 1. I didn't become a criminal, I got into metal :P and left Ireland at 17.

There is a rush to blame genetics, environment and myriad other things for youth crime.
It's not that easy, I grew up the eldest of a big family.
In a deprived and crime ridden area.
I'm not a criminal, but some of my siblings are.
Funnily enough, it is the siblings who had maximum attention and intervention at every step of their descent to criminality that ended up scumbags

Whilst those siblings who were left on the sidelines whilst the Garda activity programme, Barnados, juvenile diversion programme and every other agency with a cheque to chase, paid huge attention to and frankly rewarded outrageous behaviour.

The rest of my siblings looked on wondering what they had to do to get noticed.

One of the things I'm happiest about ever achieving in my life to date, was taking my Mam and all my siblings on their 1st foreign holiday, of looking after them whenever they came out to visit us and showing them it's not just crime that can bring reward.

Doctor Nick

Plumbthedepths wrote: »

I would imagine parents play a big part in how their kids act.
We spent 5 years living in a council house. Majority of our neighbours were sound but there was a few that they and their kids were utter toerags. Our oldest son despite our efforts started knocking around with these a**holes. We decided the only way out was to remove him from their influence. Borrowed for a deposit ( crazy that you could that then) bought a house out the country . Best decision we ever made. Both our sons, grew to love the countryside as do my wife and I. Older son went to college, earned his degree and a master's . He is now 28 ,a serving Garda for the last two years. The gob****es he was hanging around with, two I believe are dead, 1 in prison.

Much respect to you. Great you recognised and took action to ensure your children had a good life. It's a sad reality that prison or death is usually where this lifestyle leads.

Plumbthedepths

Doctor Nick wrote: »

Much respect to you. Great you recognised and took action to ensure your children had a good life. It's a sad reality that prison or death is usually where this lifestyle leads.

Thanks, we were lucky. Other parents unfortunately can't do what we did and some couldn't give a monkeys.

elperello

No I definitely couldn't.
My parents were too street wise when I was a kid.
By the time I was 18 I was too street wise myself to take that path.
Just lucky maybe, I'm not sure but that's how it was.

bitofabind

god no. The worst thing I did as a teenager was share a sneaky fag behind the school shed or use my older sister's ID to get langered on Bacardi Breezers (and get grounded for two weeks for the privilege)

TheW1zard

I was in the He-man woman haters club when i was a kid. Its all behing me now i grew out of it thank god. I miss the life though

Fanny Wank

Lyan wrote: »

Teenagers who join these people are genetically criminally disposed. It's nothing to do with circumstance, society, or anything else.

Joe Friday: Are you sure this is the woman you saw in the post office?

Mr. Burns: Absolutely! Who could forget such a monstrous visage? She has the sloping brow and cranial bumpage of the career criminal.

Waylon Smithers: Uh, Sir? Phrenology was dismissed as quackery 160 years ago.

Mr. Burns: Of course you'd say that... you have the brainpan of a stagecoach tilter!

Pauliedragon

To some people it's probably in the family and others might just grow into it. I know friends from school who were scumbags but they've come good and lead normal family lives. I also know a few who make a serious living selling drugs and are able to live lavish lives off the back of that without ever working.

r93kaey5p2izun

Maybe. My ex boyfriend from when I was 16 is a gangland criminal. He was not involved at the time and neither was his family. He's a significant player now having been the best student in his year and got a very good LC. I'm fairly sure I would have walked away from anyone involved, but who knows? My parents were ineffective and clueless so they wouldn't have kept me out of it. Many of my neighbours at home are heavily involved. I'm glad my parents sent us to school elsewhere anyway, that may be the one good parenting decision they made.

Das Reich

Why a teenager or child in a rich country like Ireland would be involved in those things if they not need? Never understood why in some developed countries have local criminals if is so easy to find a job and buy anything they want..

Doctor Nick

Das Reich wrote: »

Why a teenager or child in a rich country like Ireland would be involved in those things if they not need? Never understood why in some developed countries have local criminals if is so easy to find a job and buy anything they want..

Read the thread, you may find reasons.

Das Reich

Doctor Nick wrote: »

Read the thread, you may find reasons.

Did read the three pages before posting.

A criminal allegedly involved in a protection racket is married to a solicitor, there was a well know and dangerous criminal who has a brother who was a lecturer in Trinity College.

While background is a massive issue there is more to it than that.

Church on Tuesday

I grew up in the arse end of nowhere, what is this gangland crime you talk about?

Doctor Nick

Das Reich wrote: »

Did read the three pages before posting.

I'll repeat what I said in my post. Getting involved with a gang gave me protection from another gang who could have killed me many times. As a young, quiet, scared teenager they probably saved my life. Luckily, my parents got me out before things went to crap for said gang.

Edit: apologies, I think I misread your original question. The answer to that is not all people want jobs and want to be seen as big men throwing their weight around.

spurious

My parents would have killed me.
I could not have arrived home with ANYTHING they did not think I had the money to buy.
So, no.

I looked this up, them Canada Goose jackets are easily 1000 euro so any parent seeing their child with expensive clothes they know the child could not afford and ignoring it are just as culpable.

PmMeUrDogs

Probably fairly easily. I'm from a bad area and a poor family. I chose to focus on school instead. Not everyone I know made the same choice, unfortunately.

andekwarhola

Without reading the thread, I predict a 90% probability of Pulling Myself Up By Me Bootstrings From The Council Estate tales.

andekwarhola

andekwarhola wrote: »

Without reading the thread, I predict a 90% probability of Pulling Myself Up By Me Bootstrings From The Council Estate tales.

Threads like this are always like that, that's why its a far more interesting question as to why people don't get involved in criminality despite being surrounded by it, not being brilliant in school, not having many choices in life they still don't get involved.

Raconteuse

Not one bit given my upbringing/the environment I grew up in, but had my circumstances been different? Can't say for sure that I wouldn't.

The OP talked about the rewarding of the kids who get involved, but I've heard also that they can be intimidated into getting involved.

Lyan wrote: »

Teenagers who join these people are genetically criminally disposed. It's nothing to do with circumstance, society, or anything else.

Ah there has to be some degree of environmental influence.

Doctor Nick wrote: »

my weekends revolved around the rave scene of the early 90's (I still think of this period as the best time I ever had).

And everyone else who was there.

Your Face

Yes I think I could have lured into something like that at a certain age.
Not sure how far I would have went with it though.

NSAman

Nope....me mother would have “bate” me black and blue...first off.. where did you get that from? Woodenspoon produced..father informed...(smacked on every syllable)...frogmarched to the Gardai (like they would care now)...then no dinner for that night... then for a week...THE LOOK!!!

The LOOK was all that was needed..;)

andekwarhola

mariaalice wrote: »

Threads like this are always like that, that's why its a far more interesting question as to why people don't get involved in criminality despite being surrounded by it, not being brilliant in school, not having many choices life they still don't get involved.

The overwhelming majority in those areas don't end up as serious criminals a la currently in the news recently, even the ones from broken or dysfunctional homes. The assumption that it's genetic is stupid but people shouldn't understate the mix of personality and environment that can lead to this.

Deebles McBeebles

Nope. Good family, good upbringing.

tdf7187

mariaalice wrote: »

A criminal allegedly involved in a protection racket is married to a solicitor, there was a well know and dangerous criminal who has a brother who was a lecturer in Trinity College.

While background is a massive issue there is more to it than that.

Notorious 1990s gangland figure George "The Penguin" Mitchell is a cousin of the former TD Gay Mitchell and the late Jim Mitchell TD, both are/were highly respected figures.

banie01

Deebles McBeebles wrote: »

Nope. Good family, good upbringing.

That means nothing.
I know plenty of folk who were born with a silver spoon, had great family life and who have been given resources and opportunities galore.
Yet who are as prone to criminality and violence as the rest of us.

tdf7187

banie01 wrote: »

That means nothing.
I know plenty of folk who were born with a silver spoon, had great family life and who have been given resources and opportunities galore.
Yet who are as prone to criminality and violence as the rest of us.

You know Boris Johnson?

AllForIt

I didn't grow up in a culture of criminality so, no.

tayto lover

No. My parents always insisted on knowing who I was with and where I was.
And they checked.
I had a time to be home by and I learned not to be late. Late and I was grounded.
There’s no great mystery to raising kids. You have to work hard at it and be strict but fair. People including kids respect rules if property enforced.

Raised mine the same way and never had any problems thankfully.

Gynoid

Pfft. I couldn't even sneak out of school at lunchtime for a shift with a lad down by the canal with my wagon of a mother patrolling the town. A life of crime, me hole.

freshpopcorn

mariaalice wrote: »

Threads like this are always like that, that's why its a far more interesting question as to why people don't get involved in criminality despite being surrounded by it, not being brilliant in school, not having many choices in life they still don't get involved.

mariaalice wrote: »

An interesting question is how come there are lots who come from a not so great situation, didn't gel with school, their lives turn out to be bouncing from social welfare to so so jobs and they still do not get involved with crime.

Those joining gangs or involved in crime are in the minority.

Start a thread on it then!

RobbingBandit

Nope drugs were bad the idiots taking them rarely had money so no real business to be made from selling them especially if you'd have to break heads of your clientele on a regular basis. Too much work too much risk for a minor return.