Ross Kemp on Gangs is a BAFTA award-winning documentary series shown on Sky1 then repeated on Sky3. 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. Kemp’s character on Eastenders has been 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.
The former EastEnder visits Los Angeles, which is home to over 1,000 gangs with more than 100,000 members, and where a related murder happens every other day. He joins the LAPD on patrol and meets those involved in the battles between the infamous Bloods and the Crips, as well as exploring the emergence of Latino gangs
Ross travels through East Timor with UN peacekeepers only to see a country that is on the verge of folding. This is caused by the two main gangs in the country. The Sacred Heart and Seven Seven gangs. Ross watches as the escalating violence in the region drags this country down a path of destruction and anarchy.
When Ross lands in Columbia, he finds a country torn apart by civil war that has been running for decades. As the paramilitary and guerilla forces fight for control of the country, Ross looks beyond them to see what role the gangs of the area are having in this conflict and comes face to face with the most secretive of them all, the Sicarios.
Ross has been all over the world and seen many gangs but in Poland, he comes face to face with the most feared gang in all of Europe. They also happen to be football hooligans and Neo-Nazis. While here, Ross gets caught in the crossfire when he has tear gas thrown at him at a football match.
Ross travels to sunny Jamaica only to find that all is not bright there. Ross sets out to look into the two Yardie gangs that are rampant in the country and play a big part in Jamaica having the highest murder rate in the world.
Ross travels to Cape Town to examine the violent Number’s Gang. What he finds is a gang that is growing at a ferocious rate thanks to the over population of prisons in the area. Ross also get a first hand look inside Pollsmoor High Security Prison and experiences life from the inside.
Ross lands in Middle America to learn about the gang culture that is thriving here. He learns about the gun statistics for an average Midwestern town and is shocked to discover that there are more guns than there are people. Most of these guns belong to the gangs that roam the streets here.
Ross lands in Moscow to see if brutal gangs of Neo-Nazis are behind an alarming increase in the amount of racist attacks and hate crimes. What he discovers is very alarming but what really shocks him is the extent of power that these gangs are starting to gain.
Ross sets out to discover what makes “Mara Salvatrucha MS13″ one of the most dangerous gangs in the world. He attempts to immerse himself into the gang culture to try and get an understanding as to why there are 11 murders a day in a country that has less people than the whole of London.
Ross starts looking in his own backyard as he delves deep into the underbelly of London, England. What he finds is a city that fronts international crime and plays host to some of the most feared criminals in the world. From ex-Tamil Tigers to the Albanian mafia, Ross shows us a side of London that is rarely seen.
Ross heads to Orange County, California to get a glimpse at the skinhead gangs O.C and Pen1 that have taken hold of this city. Known as the birthplace of American skinheads, Ross tries to come to terms with the effect it is having on the community and what the police are trying to do to curb the violence and drugs that these gangs bring with it.
