Ross Kemp on Gangs
| Ross Kemp on Gangs | |
|---|---|
| Starring | Ross Kemp |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of series | 4 |
| No. of episodes | 19 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 60mins (inc. adverts) |
| Original release | |
| Network | Sky One |
| Release | 16 October 2006 – 22 September 2008 |
| Related | |
| Ross Kemp: Back on the Frontline Ross Kemp: Battle for the Amazon Ross Kemp: Extreme World Ross Kemp in Afghanistan Ross Kemp in Search of Pirates | |
Ross Kemp on Gangs is a BAFTA award-winning documentary series that was broadcast on Sky1 from 16 October 2006 to 22 September 2008. 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 tracks down 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 multi cultural 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
- Episode 1 - Jamaica
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.
- Episode 2 - Poland
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.
- Episode 3 - Colombia
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.
- Episode 4 - East Timor
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
- Special - Liverpool - See also Gangs in the United Kingdom.
Street gangs of Norris Green and Croxteth. For legal reasons, broadcast of this program was delayed until the 6th January 2009 due to the Rhys Jones murder trial.[1]
- Episode 1 - Los Angeles, California
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.
- Episode 2 - Bulgaria
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.
- Episode 3 - Belize
Cocaine trafficking.
- Episode 4 - Ross Kemp: A Kenya Special
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 20 minute Glue Kids Appeal followed a week after "A Kenya Special" aired.
See also
- Ross Kemp In Afghanistan - shadows the first battalion Royal Anglians and offers insight into life on the front line with unprecedented access.
- The Impressions Show with Culshaw and Stephenson - a sketch usually featured at the end of the show which begins with Ross Kemp (portrayed by Jon Culshaw), describing a gang he is about to encounter. Unlike the real show, he is usually referring to groups of people with no aggressive tone whatsoever e.g. Brownie (Girl Guides). He usually scarpers from the groups within thirty seconds of meeting them whilst saying "I could see things were about to kick off; so I got out of there!" however he then returns to these innocent groups a few "days" later and they have the same impact once again.