History Main / NeighbourhoodFriendlyGangsters

* Example from Balkans.There is a report about case in which Mob retrived a car stolen from man who paid themn for "insurance".

*** That's because the drug manufactured there would cause homicidal insanity, and later death. Chrysophrase wants stable business, which is rather hard with dead customers. Breccia is an extremely ruthless Mafia organization - Chrysophrase chops up one of his underlings for being disrespectful in the very same scene (well is implied to, anyway) - but they don't want to rock the boat too much and destroy their own chances of getting rich(er).

* Russia has it's example as well. Solntsevo is Moscow district, that was (or still is, This Troper is not entirely sure how situation changed since time he read about it) home of Solntsevskaya Bratva, one of the most powerfull groups from TheMafiya. At the same time it was safest neighbourhood in the city, as no one dared to make trouble on the Bratva teritory and Bratva itself was keeping good PR.

* The GetoBoys song "[[DamnItFeelsGoodToBeAGangster DamnItFeelsGoodToBeAGangsta]]" mentions "feedin' the poor and helpin' out wit' they bills" in the 2nd verse.

* The GetoBoys song "DamnItFeelsGoodToBeAGangsta" mentions "feedin' the poor and helpin' out wit' they bills" in the 2nd verse.

[[folder:Comic Books]]
* The E Street Bloodsuckers from Formerly Known as the Justice League were super powered [[ChildProdigy child prodigies]] who dropped out of college at 15 to seek enlightenment on the streets. They pretended to be gangsters in order to protect their neighborhood from genuine crime, and steal stuff. And, oh yeah, they were based on the ThreeStooges.
* {{Catwoman}} and the Alleytown Kids. No drugs, no guns and don't steal from locals.
* After a tornado destroyed the [[WretchedHive already crumbling]] [[TheQuestion Hub City]], Mayor Fermin hired the local biker gangs on as a police force. They actually did a better job than the [[BadCopIncompetentCop real police.]]
* At one time or another, several of Gothams street gangs have been under the leadership of {{Batman}}, [[BatmanGambit whether they know it or not.]]
** During the Gang War storyline, Tarantula took over her neighborhood and forced the gangs to be more proactive.
* The later half of Brian Bendis's {{Daredevil}} run has Matt Murdock publicly beat Wilson Fisk and declare himself Kingpin of Hell's Kitchen. He tries to encourage other heroes to do the same for their respective neighborhoods.
[[/folder]]

* In the early novels of Steven Brust's [[{{Dragaera}} Taltos series]], Vlad's criminal organization is depicted this way: they try to deal fairly with the ordinary citizens in their area and only use violence when necessary. They certainly do deal in drugs, prostitution and "protection", though.

* When this troper's mother lived in an east-coast city with a large Italian population, it was widely known that the Mafia was also present. There were certain neighborhoods that had no crime, period. They weren't the neighborhoods where the suspected mob bosses lived ... they were the neighborhoods where the ''parents'' of the suspected mob bosses lived.

* The Hidden Beks in KnightOfTheOldRepublic.

** [[FantasticalRacism Because that is the only help they can expect.]]

* The Corleone Family of ''TheGodfather'' are like this under Don Vito: principled gangsters who look out for those who show them respect, refusing to deal with drugs. Whereas the other families, particularly the ruthless Tataglias and Barzinis, are downright evil. Becomes somewhat of a LostAesop in the video game, when you're running around beating up shopkeepers and collecting protection-money in the name of The Family...

*** ThisTroper even heard that he had a soft spot for children, once trying to see that they got good milk.

** Well, technically he ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Dillenger#Bank_robberies did]]'', but that one was unintentional and whether Dillinger's gun actually killed the guy is contested. He ''was'' indirectly responsible or tied to a number of other killings though...

* At the time of writing, the police and army of Jamaica have not yet been able to find Christopher ‘Dudus’ Coke, suspected by the U.S. to be a gang leader and drugs smuggler, and the fighting just to get to in the general city block where he was suspected to be hiding killed some 50 people. The search isn't helped by the fact that Coke is quite popular in his local area, thanks to several charity-initiatives he runs in his neighborhood.

* Example from Balkans. This Troper is not sure which country it was, but he read report about case in which Mob retrived a car stolen from man who paid themn for "insurance".

This trope has some elements of TruthInTelevision: crime syndicates that wish to survive in a community try to have [[VillainWithGoodPublicity good public relations]], after the philosophy "don't sh* t where you eat". Many criminal organizations (including the Sicilian Mafia, the Chinese triad societies, and most American street gangs) also have their roots in community self-defense efforts, although they share a strong tendency to degenerate into more euphemistic "protection" among other abuses. Moreover, having an organised crime outfit in your neighborhood tends to help cut down on ''dis''organisied crime- the common criminals who might otherwise commit crimes in that neighborhood are too afraid of committing a crime against [[TheDon the]] ''[[TheDon wrong]]'' [[TheDon person]], and ''paying'' for it.

* At the time of writing, the police and army of Jamaica have not yet been able to find Christopher ‘Dudus’ Coke, suspected by the U.S. to be a gang leader and drugs smuggler, and the fighting just to get to in the general city block where he was suspected to be hiding killed some 50 people. The search isn't helped by the fact that Coke is quite popular in his local area, thanks to several charity-initiatives he runs in his neighborhood.

[[folder:Fan Work]]
* The Tsuruya {{yakuza}} in the ''SuzumiyaHaruhi'' FanFic ''[[Fanfic/{{Ptitle0028gzjm}} Kyon: Big Damn Hero]]''.

* Sweet Daddy Williams is this on ''GoodTimes''. One prime example is that he did not charge his usual exorbitant rates on the money that JJ owed him for Thelma's wedding. He was moved by Thelma giving him her heirloom necklace that Florida had given her for the wedding because it reminded him of his mother. Since EvenBadMenLoveTheirMamas, he tells the family that he is letting them off the hook on the condition that they not tell anyone about his kindness.

* The Ha'la'tha in ''{{Caprica}}''