1 Hellfire Pistons Motorcycle Gang Study Introduction The scenario describes the Hellfire Pistons Motorcycle Gang, led by Mandalorian. The Gang is under investigation for various criminal activities, including organized crime, motor vehicle theft, drug trafficking, weapon trafficking, and participation in illegal dogfighting matches. This presentation aims to analyze the crimes associated with the Gang, identify offenders, explore sociological factors contributing to criminal behavior, and explain how criminal justice professionals address these crime problems. Identifying Crimes Members of the Hellfire Pistons Motorcycle Gang engage in a range of criminal activities, including organized crime, where they coordinate illegal activities such as drug and weapon trafficking. Members of the Hellfire Pistons Motorcycle Gang are known to engage in motor vehicle theft, mostly targeting motorcycles, then using them as means transporting and selling narcotics such as methamphetamine and heroin across state lines. The Gang also hosts illegal dogfighting matches, where participants engage in cruel and inhumane activities, including betting on the outcomes of these fights and exchanging stolen property as rewards.
2 Describing Offenders The Mandalorian holds a significant leadership position within the criminal organization, and he is designated the national president of the Hellfire Pistons Motorcycle Gang. John Wick, identified as a convicted felon on parole, has a history of criminal activity outside the Gang, implicated in executing murders on behalf of the Gang, indicating involvement in violent criminal acts. Deadpool, a 17-year-old gang member, represents the younger demographic within the Gang, functioning as a drug and illegal firearms seller despite being a minor. The organizer of illegal dogfighting matches is called Bookie. He facilitates gambling on these matches and exchanges stolen property as rewards, demonstrating involvement in illegal activities beyond mere participation in the Gang. Applying Sociology to Criminology The social learning theory of crime argues that people learn criminal behavior through the same process by which they learn conventional behaviors through interactions with family members, peers, and social institutions. Walsh & Beaver (2009) support that people are not inherently predisposed to commit crimes but rather acquire criminal tendencies through social interactions and environmental influences. Gang involvement, for instance, can be understood as a form of socialization into a subculture that glorifies criminality and violence. Carter & Fuller (2016) claim that symbolic interactionism—a sociological viewpoint emphasizing the role of communication and symbols in influencing human behavior—is a major source of inspiration for social learning theory. Within the gang subculture, for instance, wearing gang colors or flaunting gang tattoos are symbolic expressions of identity and allegiance. According to social learning theory, people—including gang members—learn illegal behavior through reward, imitation, and observation (Akers, 2017). Aside from these, new
3 members of the Hellfire Pistons Motorcycle Gang would be able to learn from older members the illegal strategies and conventions that would permit them to continue with illegal operations, such as drug trafficking, weapon smuggling, and violence. Sociology offers vital and relevant insights into the sociocultural and institutional factors that facilitate the setting and perpetuation of crime. The Social Disorganization Theory and the Strain Theory suggest that disparities in access to opportunities, resources, and social support could lead to stress, frustration, and deviant behavior. As another example, people who live in low-status neighborhoods might resort to crime to make ends meet or deal with social isolation. Utilizing Data and Theories in Criminal Justice With the use data in criminal justice, the professionals at the respective agencies are better able to use their resources to predict and prevent crimes more proactively. For instance, an excellent example of how data-driven approaches are rapidly taking over the field of criminal justice is the U.S. Department of Justice Data-Driven Justice Initiative. Almost all aspects of various fields, from policing to judiciary to rehabilitation, are benefiting significantly following the incorporation of data analytics in their procedures. The utilization of data analytics in criminal justice, which has established criminal profiles to restrict suspect lists and allow identification of and compromise with offenders across jurisdictions, has also made it simple for law enforcement authorities to uncover linkages among cases by identifying commonalities in factors such as modus operandi, location, and timing of crimes. It is now easier to evaluate the risk that someone convicted of a criminal offense might be a danger to public safety upon being released from prison or probation thanks to data-driven systems, such as the system of former New Jersey Attorney General Anne Milgram (NPR, 2018). This data-driven technique allows parole boards and
4 judges to make well-informed decisions about the risks associated with the persons they contemplate releasing.
References Walsh, A., & Beaver, K. M. (2009). Biosocial criminology (pp. 79-101). Springer New York. Akers, R. (2017). Social learning and social structure: A general theory of crime and deviance. Routledge. Carter, M. J., & Fuller, C. (2016). Symbols, meaning, and action: The past, present, and future of symbolic interactionism. Current sociology, 64(6), 931-961. Chouhy, C. (2019). Social support and crime. Handbook on crime and deviance, 213-241. Ugwudike, P. (2021). Data-Driven Technologies in Justice Systems: Intersections of Power, Data Configurations, and Knowledge Production. Researching Cybercrimes: Methodologies, Ethics, and Critical Approaches, 81-102. How Can Smarter Statistics Help Us Fight Crime, NPR retrieved from :https://www.npr.org/2018/01/26/580619944/anne-milgram-how-can-smarterstatistics-help-us-fight-crime