Outlaw biker violence and retaliation

The number of outlaw bikers is growing globally. Despite this, little research exists on these groups and their alleged violent tendencies. To address this, the current paper uses unique data to examine whether gang violence causes outlaw biker violence. The period examined runs from mid-2008 until early 2012 during which violent clashes occurred between outlaw bikers and street gang members involved in an alleged conflict in Copenhagen, Denmark. A precise description of each individual act of violence would make it possible to identify whether specific acts were carried out in furtherance of the alleged conflict. This would allow one to determine whether outlaw bikers commit violence on behalf of their club. However, such knowledge is unavailable. The paper therefore takes a different approach by examining whether acts of violence committed by the two groups are statistically associated. In other words, it considers whether one or more acts can be described as retaliatory during the observation periods. The sample consists of 640 individuals involved with the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club or with non-biker street gangs–both of which are present in Copenhagen. Statistical models are used to predict 143 violent events committed by 196 outlaw bikers. The results suggest that violence committed by gang members predicts violence committed by outlaw bikers. This indicates that violent acts committed by outlaw bikers are at least partly a form of retaliation carried out on behalf of their club. The paper expands the literature on the kinds of inter-group, micro-level processes that can lead to reciprocal violence by including outlaw bikers in a literature that has previously focused on non-biker street gangs.

全球范围内，不法机车党（outlaw bikers）的规模正不断扩张。然而，针对这类群体及其被指控的暴力倾向的研究却寥寥无几。为填补这一研究空白，本研究借助独特数据集展开分析，旨在探究街头帮派暴力是否会引发不法机车党暴力行为。本次研究的观测时段为2008年中期至2012年年初，在此期间，丹麦哥本哈根参与某起被指控冲突的不法机车党成员与街头帮派成员之间爆发了多起暴力冲突。若能精准描述每一起暴力事件，便可明确特定暴力行为是否为推进该被指控冲突而实施，进而判断不法机车党是否为其帮派实施暴力行为。但目前此类详实信息尚未获取。因此，本研究采用了另一种研究思路：分析两个群体实施的暴力行为是否存在统计学关联。换言之，本研究旨在判断观测时段内的某一起或多起暴力行为是否属于报复性行为。本次研究的样本涵盖640名相关人员，分别隶属于地狱天使机车俱乐部（Hells Angels Motorcycle Club）或非机车党性质的街头帮派，两类群体均在哥本哈根有活动。研究借助统计模型，对196名不法机车党成员实施的143起暴力事件展开预测分析。研究结果显示，街头帮派成员实施的暴力行为可有效预测不法机车党的暴力行为。这表明，不法机车党实施的暴力行为至少有一部分是为其帮派实施的报复性行为。过往相关研究多聚焦于非机车党性质的街头帮派，本研究将不法机车党纳入研究范畴，从而拓展了关于可引发双向暴力的群体间微观互动机制的相关学术文献。