Ross Kemp on Gangs

Ross Kemp on Gangs
Genre Documentary
Presented by Ross Kemp
Country of origin United Kingdom
Original language(s) English
No. of series 4
No. of episodes 18 (inc. 1 special)
Production
Running time 60 minutes (inc. adverts)
Production company(s) Tiger Aspect Productions and Mongoose Productions
Distributor Endemol UK
Broadcast
Original channel Sky One
Picture format 16:9 (1080i HDTV)
Original run 16 October 2006 – 6 January 2009
Chronology
Followed by Ross Kemp in Afghanistan

Ross Kemp on Gangs is a documentary series that was broadcast on Sky One from 16 October 2006 to 6 January 2009. On 20 May 2007 the series won a BAFTA award for best factual series. The show is hosted by actor Ross Kemp, best known for his role of Grant Mitchell in the show EastEnders where Kemp's character was involved in several storylines involving gangs.

On the show Kemp travels around the world talking to gang members, locals who have been affected by gang violence, and the authorities who are attempting to combat the problem. In each episode he attempts to establish contacts within the gangs who can arrange interviews with the gangs' leaders.

Series 1

Episode 1 - Lethal Attraction: Why Americans Love Guns (An inspiration for ‘Ross Kemp On Gangs’)

Ross Kemp investigates the obsession with firearms in America.

Episode 2 - Rio de Janeiro

In Rio de Janeiro, Ross examines the war waging not only between the authorities and the drugs trade, but the rival gangs that are locked in bitter feuds for control of the slums. Ross travels into troubled regions of the city to uncover how far things have gone and if there is any way back. In the process Ross discovers the extent of inequality in Brazil's society.

Episode 3 - New Zealand

Ross explores the violent underworld beneath the rolling hills and sweeping valleys of one of the most beautiful countries on Earth. He examines the Mongrel Mob, who are responsible for countless violent assaults.

Episode 4 - Orange County

Orange County, California, regarded as the birthplace of American skinheads. The recent amalgamation of various factions has led to the creation of the Orange County Skinheads where Ross gets to grips with the impact of this group on a concerned community.

Episode 5 - London

Ross Kemp visits London to investigate the multicultural society that breeds international organised crime. Ross also speaks to ethnic minorities that feel they are alienated by society and the system. See also Gangs in the United Kingdom.

Series 2

Episode 1 - El Salvador

Ross travels to El Salvador to meet the "most dangerous gang in the world", MS13 (Mara Salvatrucha) a gang started by migrant Salvadoran youths in urban Los Angeles. In a country with a population smaller than London, there are over 800 murders a year, and MS13 manages to boast over 100,000 members world wide.

Episode 2 - Moscow

Ross Kemp gets inside Moscow's vicious Neo-Nazi gangs and discovers who is behind the recent racist attacks. He joins one Neo-Nazi group during their training and through a series of tests (which include him being set on fire).

Episode 3 - St Louis

Ross’s examines Middle America’s gang culture with a visit to St. Louis, Missouri; where he takes a look at how this Midwestern municipality with a population of 342,000 people, there are around 380,000 guns – and many of these are in the hands of gang members.

Episode 4 - South Africa

Ross explores South Africa's ferocious Numbers Gang which thrives in the country's overcrowded prisons. Nowhere is their power more potent than Cape Town's Pollsmoor High Security Prison. Here, Ross learns the fearsome power of the Numbers who subject new arrivals to violent attacks and gang rapes as part of their brutal initiations. (NB: It was this episode which won the Bafta for Best Factual Series, 2008.)

Episode 5 - Notorious Street Gangs of South London

Following the recent spate of gang related incidents in London, Ross Kemp visits Peckham and Brixton and speaks to some of South London's most notorious gangs, including the Peckham boys and Cripset (South London Crips). See also Gangs in the United Kingdom.

Series 3

Ross Kemp travels to Kingston, Jamaica, the murder capital of the world, where gangs historically aligned to Jamaica's two political parties. Ross discovers the gangs have moved away from their political roots and now engage in a bloody turf war, funded by drugs and driven by tit-for-tat reprisals, that has spawned a new generation of even more violent gangs.

Ross travels to Poland to visit the Polish football hooligans who have become some of the most feared gangs in Europe. Ross joins an elite police riot squad as they escort a notoriously violent hooligan gang and travels to Gorzów, to meet the leaders of the brutal Stilon Fighters.

Kemp visits Colombia, a country ravaged by war and synonymous with drugs and violence, Ross Kemp meets the people involved in the long and bitter guerrilla fighting - including the most secretive of them all, the Sicarios. These small groups, mostly under the employ of the paramilitaries, operate as 'hit-squads', killing whoever is considered a threat.

More than two-thirds of East Timorese youth are believed to be involved in gangs, ranging from martial arts groups to cult-like animist gangs. In the barrios of downtown Dili, Ross meets Sacred Heart and Seven Seven, two gangs in the midst of a deadly conflict, and witnesses their bizarre rituals, strict training and terrifying arsenal.

Series 4

Ross Kemp travels to Los Angeles, California to interview the Crips and the Bloods in the areas of Compton, known to be the most gang prohibited area in all of the United States. And the fight between African American and Latino gang members.

Kemp explores Bulgaria and some parts of London to find out who is actually behind the Roma Pick-Pocketing members. He also goes to Bulgaria to visit Roma gangs and Neo-Nazi Skinheads.

Cocaine trafficking.

In this 90-minute special, Ross Kemp travels to Kenya to investigate the Mungiki, an outfit labelled as the most dangerous "gang" in Africa. A 30 minute Glue Kids Appeal followed straight after "A Kenya Special" aired.

Street gangs of Norris Green and Croxteth. For legal reasons, broadcast of this program was delayed until 6 January 2009 due to the Rhys Jones murder trial.[1]

See also

References

External links