The Mongrel Mob displays, in a particularly intense form, qualities possessed by all human groups. Is this in fact the case?
The Mongrel Mob displays, in a particularly intense form, qualities possessed by all human groups.
Is this in fact the case? Before we decide one must firstly identify what group qualities the Mongrel Mob display and how they relate to their group and other groups.
One of the difficulties in labeling the Mongrel Mob, as a group, is that they are a series of loosely connected small groups or chapters who are connected by their patch, name and behavior standards. However I believe that most Chapters of the Mongrel Mob are very similar in their make up. This belief is founded on approximately 14 years with the New Zealand Police and over that time contacts with numerous Mongrel Mob Members throughout New Zealand of different chapters.
Some of the group qualities in the Mongrel Mob that can be readily identified are: Structure, Process, Communication and Leadership. Tyson (1989) describes in detail the above mentioned by way of Key Concepts. Some of Tysons other Key Concepts are not so visible within the Mongrel Mob Group.
Structure in the Mongrel Mob can be seen by their system of induction of prospects into the group and hierarchical structuring of the gang. 176.204, Book of Readings, Bill Payne 1997 'The Prospects: Servants of the Arm Trade, "Gangs are very hierarchical; people say they're like a family but maybe our families are encouraged to be hierarchical. Gangs have a boss, and then there's the sergeant-at-arms etc- its like a little army."
The induction is parallel to the serving of an apprenticeship, where a prospect, to gain entry to the gang, is part of the formal structure of the group but does not take a leadership role. He is the underling for the group, the worker and in some cases is called on to be the "fall guy" for criminal activity. In this way he proves his worthiness to join the group, gains acceptance from other members and raises his hierarchical position within the group.
His role is the Enacted Role, Tyson (1989 pg 45 & 46) he has expected behaviors as conveyed by others to the actor and plays that part out as actual behavior. He will not receive formal written instructions but will often be told what is "the thing to do" or what is expected of him. By acting out the expectations of the accepted members of the group acceptance is more readily achieved. If acceptance is not gained the repercussions can range from being shunned by the group or violent attacks by members of the group.
This type of structure and instruction may also be seen in the family unit where, at times, there may be no formal head of the family, each parent being equal, but, having some non formalised roles. Siblings looking to each other for guidance, as well as the parent or parents. It is the norm that the benchmark or standard is set by the older siblings and experience of the parents but over time standards will change as the family (as a group) has more life experiences to draw from.
Once the Prospect has become a patched member of the Mongrel Mob his position is now higher up the hierarchical order of the gang. He will be answerable to the President or Sergeant-at Arms of the gang. Future prospects will look up to him for guidance on criterion for behavior.
The President has a clear role within the Mongrel Mob, as does the Sergeant-at-Arms. These roles, seen both within the gang and from the outside, reinforce the structure of the gang. The president being the "leader" by either election or natural order and the Sergeant-at-Arms being a ...
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Once the Prospect has become a patched member of the Mongrel Mob his position is now higher up the hierarchical order of the gang. He will be answerable to the President or Sergeant-at Arms of the gang. Future prospects will look up to him for guidance on criterion for behavior.
The President has a clear role within the Mongrel Mob, as does the Sergeant-at-Arms. These roles, seen both within the gang and from the outside, reinforce the structure of the gang. The president being the "leader" by either election or natural order and the Sergeant-at-Arms being a member responsible for discipline within the gang. Obviously both the President, Sergeant-at-Arms and Patched Members have Legitimate Power, Tyson (1989 pp57) over prospects
As outlined by Lash Barb, Census of Prison Inmates1997 Ministry of Justice New Zealand, Section 5, "Gang members can cause management problems within prisons because of their potential to act in unison, either against other inmates, or against prison staff." The deployment of a group in unison is the logical result of structure within the group so energies can be directed towards a common goal.
The above clearly outlines there is a formal entry method and hierarchical standings within the gang giving it a structure that could be compared loosely with any committee, workgroup or military or quasi-military organisation.
One noticeable difference with the overall structure of the Mongrel Mob is that although it is made up of Chapters through out New Zealand there does not seem to be a "Mother Chapter" or overall leader. In fact there would appear to be a clear resistance to that concept setting them apart from gangs or groups like the Black Power. (176.204, Book of Readings Pg 94) This is discussed further under Communication
Process within the Mongrel Mob can be identified. Although they are not a work group, the Mongrel Mob is not dissimilar to other groups. They still require process to function as a group.
Emotions and personality characteristics are evident within all their interactions. These could be a nod of the head, raising of the voice, where a favorite seating position may be, facial expressions or pauses in conversation. As they are all human beings functioning in a group there must be process.
Processes identified during the interview with Payne and a 20-year Mongrel Mobster, (176.204, Book of Readings, Bill Payne, 'The Mongrel Mob, Old Dogs and Chinamen') are: Some members engaged in "eyeballing," others chanted the well known Mongrel Mob adopted expression of 'Sieg Heil' and others joined as spectators during the interview.
The above three identified group processes surface with ease in the Mongrel Mob arena, as the gang members are motivated subconsciously to use them in their home environment. In other words they are feeling comfortable and confident. They are not anxious at all therefore there is no restraining force.
The 'Sieg Heil' chant made by members of the gang may well be motivated by a self serving need to once again reaffirm their acceptance within the gang and display their loyalty when in the company of peers especially in front of an outsider.
The "eyeballing" is serving as a clandestine warning to the guest that he or she is not part of the group and a degree of subservient behavior is certainly expected. (Eyeballing is also discussed in conjunction with communication)
A strong emphasis is placed on greeting and referring to other members of the gang as "Dog, Bro, Mongrel or Sieg". In using these expressions or process it oils the progress of the gang and assists with the natural bonding of its members or recognition of their status.
Families too often have nicknames for their members. These can either be used as a term of endearment to foster process within the family unit.
Often nicknames are also common in a tight knit workgroup that is functioning well. They occur once members become familiar enough with one another to feel comfortable with each other. It reduces the formality of the situation often changes the mood of the group. These are part of the group process.
Communication is certainly present within the Mongrel Mob group however it may not be on a strictly formal basis as in office memos being sent from member to member (one way communication). It is seen in the signaling of instructions or expectations between members and in the recruitment of future members, which appears to be the most critical area of communication within the ranks of the Mob.
Only those who truly understand what Mongrel Mob life is about and take up the challenge for life have successfully communicated with the other members of the Mob.
Two things have then occurred. Firstly the message from the existing members (senders) has been signaled in a clear, concise and understandable manner. Secondly the message has been fully understood by the prospect member (receiver) but more importantly both the sender and the receiver are communicating on the same plane and have exactly the same understanding of the message.
It is critical that the communication between members and prospect members reach a point where 'shared common-meaning experience' is achieved (Jones J.E. 1972). If this juxtaposition does not occur the future of the group will become endangered due to fragmentation. Members will have different beliefs about the groups goals of expectations and this will eventually lead to either the group refocusing their direction or splitting completely.
By ensuring the 'shared common-meaning experience' takes place the Mongrel Mob are ensuring their long-term survival.
On another level other examples of general day to day verbal and non-verbal communication can been seen within the Mongrel Mob. The eyeballing or use of a modified fist raised in the air (non-verbal), the 'Sieg Heil' call or references to one another as Bro, Dog, or Mongrel (176.204, Book of Readings, Bill Payne, 'The Mongrel Mob, Old Dogs and Chinamen')
When prospects for the gang are spending time around full gang members or those that are seen as acceptable to the gang the prospects soak up the non-verbal mode communications transmitted from those being looked up to. An example of this is demonstrated in, 'The Prospects: Servants of the Arm Trade", Book of Readings, Bill Payne 1997 176.204 - where Cam is invited to hit the school canteen. -"There's an edge to Scrapers's voice that was never there before".- The edge to the voice raises excitement and attention levels thereby ensuring that recipient of the message is listening using all of his or her three basic sensory channels.
Leadership as defined by Tyson (1998) Is the art of influencing people so that the group is moved on step closer to its goal, Leads to the question do the Mongrel Mob have a goal?
The goal of the Mongrel Mob would appear to be the quest to live as a Mobster for their entire life. But what is the life of Mobster?
The life or lifestyle of Mobster is an ever-evolving process however to be a true Mobster you must be part of the Mongrel Mob.
Interestingly as discussed above the Mongrel Mob as an organisation does not appear to have a clear leader but is made up of a series of Chapters all with their own similar structure and Leadership.
At the time of the Interview The Old Dog Talks (176.204, Book of Readings, Bill Payne,) it was suggested that the closest thing to general leadership or control nationally was to possibly have a Council of Chiefs.
With that in mind it may be useful to separate the Mongrel Mob as a complete entity and Chapters within the Mongrel Mob.
There is now clear evidence that regular meetings are held between chapters of the Mongrel Mob and that they are interacting with other gangs. This is backed up by the 1996 report by Dr Greg Newbold, Department of Sociology Canterbury University to International Conference on Organised Crime in Yokohama, Japan.
"A worrying trend in recent years has been apparent collusion between gangs such as the Mongrel Mob and organised Asian criminals. In 1996 this resulted in two attempts by Asian gangs to contract local criminals to kill police officers"
This shift of ethos would tend to suggest the Mongrel Mob may well be developing a national structure with an overall leader but at this point there is insufficient data to draw a firm conclusion.
On a Chapter level two the clear leadership roles within the Mongrel Mob are that of the President commonly known as the 'Pres' and the Sergeant at Arms. Their style of leadership is a mixture of Autocratic and Laissez-faire dependant on what circumstances the group finds itself in.
One may gain the impression that being part of the Mongrel Mob is a life style choice and that there are no hard in fast rules within the group. Group membership drifts on and leadership is based on a Laissez-faire approach. This is certainly often the case but not always. The Laissez-faire approach is reflected throughout the Interview The Old Dog Talks (176.204, Book of Readings, Bill Payne,) examples of this include statements like "We make our own life, no one else. No Policies, no government, no fucking public, no law enforcement".
Evidence of autocratic leadership within the Mongrel Mob are prospects being given directions to commit crime or taking the fall for another member. There is little or no input from the prospect and complete submission is expected in this case. Furthermore by virtue of the fact that the Mongrel Mob need a Sergeant-at Arms suggests that times there is a need for punishment to be metered out as the traditional role of the Sergeant-at-Arms is the disciplinarian within the gang. Punishment goes hand in hand with disobedience. Autocratic leadership leaves no room for non-conformity therefore the need for a Sergeant-at-Arms.
In conclusion clearly the Mongrel Mob when viewed as chapters display some well-defined qualities possessed by all human groups and hopefully some parallels have been demonstrated here however they also appear to be devoid of some other qualities or chararistsics. This may be due to the fact they are not a work group but more of a social group who do not appear to have any long term goal apart from the aforementioned lifestyle goal.
REFERENCES
76.204, Book of Readings, Bill Payne, 'The Mongrel Mob, Old Dogs and Chinamen'
76.204, Book of Readings, Bill Payne 1997 'The Prospects: Servants of the Arm Trade,
Jones J.E. 1972 'Communication modes: and experiental lecture. The 1972 Annual handbook for group facilitators. La Jolla, Ca.: University Associates, 173-77
Lash Barb, Census of Prison Inmates1997 Ministry of Justice New Zealand, Section 5
Newbold Greg Dr, Department of Sociology Canterbury University, 1996 Report to International Conference on Organised Crime in Yokohama, Japan,
TYSON, Trevor, 1998 (2nd edition) Working with Groups.
Pat TASKER
ID 01147242
Course 176204 Small Groups
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