The Get Money Gang originally were somewhat of an 'off-shoot' to the Black Gang from nearby Enfield Island Village. A young man known by the street name 'Kaos' (see image left, GMG youth in their early days, aged 12-14) is the self-proclaimed creator of the Get Money Gang in Enfield which originated in the late 2000's (2007/08). The gang has always identified with the colour brown, with early imagery used by the gang through social media taking influence from the now defunct Brown Gang from Wandsworth in South London.
GMG is a popular London gang name, the earliest GMG (Get Money Gangsters) were from the Canning Town area of Newham, followed by the Get Money Gangsterz from south-east London, Croydon borough and Penge, neither are linked with the Enfield GMG. There is also a GMG clique in the Peckham area of south-east London.
Together with Black Gang, the GMG became part of an ongoing conflict against the Younger Dem Africans (sometimes referred to as Dark Green Riders) and their short lived younger set Edmonton Young Gunners, both from Edmonton. This conflict has resulted in numerous stabbing incidents, some of which have been reported in the local media.
In April 2011, a young boy was stabbed to death in Lower Edmonton. Negus McLean's death is rumoured to have been carried out by members of the Get Money Gang from Enfield. It is claimed that Negus, whose nickname was Y.Choppz, was an associate of the Dark Green Riders (Young Dem Africans) and following his death a number of photo's and videos with him and other gang members were uploaded onto YouTube and Facebook sites. A number of comments on these sites are made by young people vowing revenge against members of the Get Money Gang, some threats are also aimed at the Black Gang, for their alleged involvement in the murder of Negus McLean.
Since the murder of Negus McLean the Black Gang and Get Money Gang have become more clearly distinguishable from one another, becoming more independent.
In 2012, the Get Money Gang became subject to the first 'Gangs call-in' initiative tested in England. The initiative takes from projects pioneered in the United States, notably Boston's much replicated 'Ceasefire' and Cincinnati Initiative to Reduce Violence (CIRV). The scheme was brought to the United Kingdom and used by Strathclyde Police to address youth gangs in Glasgow as part of their Violence Reduction Unit initiative, also CIRV (Community Initiative to Reduce Violence), which addresses the violent aspect of gangs as a public health issue.
Ten members of the Get Money Gang were brought to the docks of Wood Green Crown Court on the 31st January 2012, due to their suspected involvement in crimes including GBH, robbery and knife related crimes. They were met by a variety of speakers including the Metropolitan Police, a surgeon from London Royal Free Hospital, ex-gang members, the mother of teenage murder victim Shakilus Townsend and others to deliver those ten, who had arrived voluntarily for the call-in, a choice.
As reported in the Evening Standard, their choice, or ultimatum, was: change and we will help you change; carry on as you are and we will come after you. The judge reiterated, telling the young men aged 13-19, “Listen very carefully to what you hear today. It may change your life”.
Jermaine Jones-Lawlor, 20, from east London, was one of three former gang members to give the boys a piece of his mind. But instead of addressing them from the centre of the court like the others, he stood inches from the bullet-proof glass wall of the dock, looked into their eyes and said: "I've sat where you sit, in cuffs. I was looking at seven years.
"A lot of my friends got killed. I know men in prison who cry themselves to sleep every night and are doing life for murder.
"You are lucky - I wish I had been given the chance you have today. I'm not going to lie and tell you leaving [the gang] is easy, cos it ain't. But if you don't, next time you hear these words you will be in prison, or dead, and we'll be leaning over your coffin and saying, 'What a waste.' First step to leave this life is to ask yourself: is your life worth more than a postcode?"
