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 noted the emergence of a gang problem in the United Kingdom. According to John Heale, who has studied British gangs in detail, the term refers to "a group of approximately 10 or more named individuals who claim allegiance to a geographical area" (De Castella and McClatchey, 2011: 1). Gangs have emerged in disadvantaged communities that have disengaged from executive power. They are seen as a threat because they are often linked to drugs and violence (Harding, 2014: 92). Although the UK Home Office does not have official statistics on the scale of the UK's current gang problem, it estimates that around 6% of young people 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 there were 170 in Glasgow and that 3,500 young people aged 11 to 23 were part of them. (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 some degree of similarity between these emerging British gangs and established gang culture in the United States. According to an American 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 UK 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 men. This is proven by modern British gang statistics; 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 social and economic aspects of their lives. Given that the lowest-income members of society will always be most affected by economic downturns etc., the UK should try to learn from US examples to identify gang behavior and relate it to the exact situations likely to occur. lead to a gang culture..