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Motorcycle Clubs or Gangs?

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Encyclopedia of Criminology and Criminal Justice

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Synonyms

1%ers; Biker clubs/gangs; Motorcycle clubs; Motorcycle gangs; One percent clubs/gangs; Outlaw motorcycle clubs/gangs

Overview

Motorcycle clubs, that is, voluntary social organizations based on a common love of motorcycles and riding together, formed in the early 1900s. However, by the 1930s groups of displaced young men riding motorcycle grouped together in what were nascent gangs. These nascent gangs evolved into outlaw bikers and then into a subculture of bikers known as One Percenters aka Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs. The One Percenters evolved into motorcycle gangs more into crime for profit than a common love of motorcycles and riding together. Today, these Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs are national and international criminal organizations.

Are motorcycle clubs really clubs, that is, voluntary social organization built around the love of motorcycles, or criminal gangs whose members happen to ride motorcycles? There is no easy answer: some are and some are not. Some well-known...

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Recommended Reading and References

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Criminal Justice, College of Justice and Safety, Eastern Kentucky University, Richmond, KY, 40475, USA

    Tom Barker

Authors
  1. Tom Barker
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Tom Barker .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Netherlands Institute for the Study of Crime and Law Enforcement (NSCR), Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Gerben Bruinsma

  2. VU University Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Gerben Bruinsma

  3. Department of Criminology, Law and Society, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA, USA

    David Weisburd

  4. Faculty of Law, The Hebrew University, Mt. Scopus, Jerusalem, Israel

    David Weisburd

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Barker, T. (2014). Motorcycle Clubs or Gangs?. In: Bruinsma, G., Weisburd, D. (eds) Encyclopedia of Criminology and Criminal Justice. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-5690-2_645

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-5690-2_645

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4614-5689-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-5690-2

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