->''"I got Harlem, Richie. I took care of Harlem, and now Harlem is gonna take care of me. You can believe that."''
-->--'''Frank Lucas''', ''AmericanGangster''

It's not enough for [[DamnItFeelsGoodToBeAGangster it to just feel good to be a gangster]], you should also win the sympathy of the audience. Since racketeering, random murders and selling drugs don't really fly with the general public, heroic criminals in fiction are usually NeighbourhoodFriendlyGangsters.

There is truth to this, particularly in the birthplace of the mob, Sicily. Eventually, the locals of that harried island go tired of being invaded every other week, and banded together with the local gangsters. The same goes for Harlem during the Civil Rights Struggle, which saw its share of unfair treatment by police.

This trope is usually set against more villanous locals or [[RuthlessForeignGangsters outsiders]]. NeighbourhoodFriendlyGangsters almost always have [[EvenEvilHasStandards standards]]; refusing to deal hard drugs is a common one.

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 shit 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''organized 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.

Compare EvenEvilHasStandards, DamnItFeelsGoodToBeAGangster, GentlemanThief, LoveableRogue, TheFamilyForTheWholeFamily, HonorAmongThieves, and ThePiratesWhoDontDoAnything. Contrast RuthlessForeignGangsters.

----
!!Examples:

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
* ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'' part 5 has a section of Passione, a gang which carries the series protagonist, Giorno, as it's newest member. The gang are a small subgroup in the prominent mafia which are an exception in that the people LIKE them, rather than the extortion side. The only nasty member gets his early on and replaced by Giorno, following which it is revealed that the group leader Bucciarati hates drug dealing and dirty deeds and only joined up to help put a stop to it (Similar to Giorno himself). So Neighbourhood friendly that old people willingly go up to ask them, a group of rogues with supernatural abilities and trouble surrounding them, for help.
* ''LightNovel/{{Baccano}}'' doesn't really touch at all on the crime-for-profit element of TheMafia (except for a few mentions of speakeasies), and its mobster characters might as well be violent aristocrats given their behavior and portrayal. The light novels ''do'' go a bit more into crime, with the Genoard fortune coming from cocaine and the Gandors being explicitly opposed to drug dealing. Of course, this only reinforces which characters are NeighbourhoodFriendlyGangsters.
** Also, Jaccuzi and Nice run a crew of community minded delinquents.
* Yusuke from ''Manga/YuYuHakusho'' is a Neighbourhood Friendly [[{{Delinquents}} Punk]] who shoplifts, smokes, gambles and gets into fights for fun.
** Ichigo from ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'' starts out perceived the same way, as he is believed to bleach his hair, even though it is naturally red, and he does not trust authority figures.
* The Kuroda group in ''{{Gokusen}}'' is like this. They still like a good fight and get most of their resources from illegal gambling and protection of hostess bars. Though unlike others they don't just get protection money to extort them, they really do protect them.
* The Washimine group of the "Fujiyama Gangsta Paradise" arc in ''Manga/BlackLagoon'' is an ethical {{Yakuza}}, fighting an uphill battle against more ruthless {{Delinquents}} and TheMafiya headed by Balalaika. Ginji Matsuzaki, the ''wakagashira'' and resident {{Badass}} of the group, comments that while they're impoverished, it's more honourable than "selling women and meth."
* ''Manga/KatekyoHitmanReborn'', for the first 8 volumes, is a wacky comedy where the cast is supposed to be a Mafia family. They're really more TrueCompanions than anything else.
** Then the other part of their family show that they are ''not'' Friendly and engages in the battle for succession of the boss title.
** Later, another mafia family is introduced. This one ([[TimeTravel in the future]]) has [[TakeOverTheWorld taken over the world]].
** And the latest flashbacks reveal that the protagonist's family in its first generation was a ''vigilante'' group, and only later has been turned into a full-blown mafia family.
* The Sonozaki family in ''VisualNovel/HigurashiNoNakuKoroNi'' enforces the peace in Hinamizawa whenever the cops aren't around.
* The Dollars in ''Literature/{{Durarara}}'' are something of an example, whether they're a gang, a neighbourhood watch organisation or just a group of random anonymous people depends on how you look at it. Also [[spoiler:when Kida ruled them]] the Yellow Scarves were this, at least in comparison to Blue Square.
* The Yakuza of ''Futakoi Alternative''. Granted, when compared to biomechanical flying pyromaniac squid, simple Yakuza seem pretty tame.
* HOMRA in ''Anime/{{K}}'' gives off a strong street-gangster vibe and can often be rude to innocents, but they never intentionally do something evil. Their actions are mostly pushed by their close bonds and their instincts to protect and stick up for members of the gang.
[[/folder]]

[[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 Film/TheThreeStooges.
* Comicbook/{{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 Gotham's 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]]

[[folder:Fan Works]]
* The [[spoiler:Tsuruya]] {{Yakuza}} in the SuzumiyaHaruhi FanFic ''Fanfic/KyonBigDamnHero''.
* One chapter of the ''My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic'' fanfic ''Fanfic/{{Progress}}'' has Luna take up the mantle of [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E8TheMysteriousMareDoWell the Mysterious Mare-Do-Well]] and try to fight crime. Unfortunately, she fails to find any; she even barges in on a Mafia meeting only to find that the mobsters are planning not a heist, but a ''charity toy drive''.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Film]]
* ''JohnnyDangerously''. "I mean, sure, we were criminals, but we never hurt the general public. And every year at Christmas Time, we'd send a bit of money back to the community."
* Music/MichaelJackson was meant to be one in the Smooth Criminal segment of the ''Film/{{Moonwalker}}'' film against the evil mobster Mr. Big, played by JoePesci.
* ''AmericanGangster'', though the drug trade isn't toned down, or glorified for that matter.
* The Corleone Family of ''Film/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 [[VideoGame/TheGodfather the video game]], when you're running around beating up shopkeepers and collecting protection-money in the name of The Family...
* Sonny (Chazz Palminteri) in ''ABronxTale''. Since it's all based on Palminteri's youth in the Bronx, the original Sonny is probably an example of TruthInTelevision as well.
** It is worth noting that while Sonny does believe in taking care of the neighbourhood, a lot of the guys he is in charge of are either losers or violent thugs, and there are some small hints that if one of the other guys was running things instead things would be a lot messier for that neighbourhood.
* Played for laughs in ''Ali G Indahouse''. The sleepy suburb of Staines has two resident "gangs," who are really just middle-class kids who like to imitate gangsta rappers. Completely harmless to the public and each other, their biggest crimes are graffiti and smoking weed. One particular scene focuses on how Ali G won't even exceed the speed limit. He even volunteers at a leisure center to teach kids how to "Keep it Real."
* The male protagonist of ''Victor/Victoria'' is a sort of [[TheGreatGatsby Gatsby-like]] character- an educated guy who is the brains/face for mobsters, but [[ThePiratesWhoDontDoAnything he doesn't do anything evil]] on screen except struggling against other gangsters who are presented as bad guys, and his {{gayngster}} bodyguard is an all-around nice guy as well.
* In the Mexican film ''El Crimen del Padre Amaro'' (The Crime of Father Amaro), the local priest has a long-standing friendship with the local drug lord who donates large sums of money for the church's new leper's hospital and orphanage.
* Moses and his gang from ''AttackTheBlock''. When he finds out that Sam lives in the Block, he apologizes for mugging her at the beginning of the movie and gives back the ring he took from her, and he's even willing to give his life to protect the Block from an alien invasion. [[spoiler: He survives.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Literature]]
* Marcone from ''TheDresdenFiles'' can fall into this trope as his syndicate helped Harry take down a serial killer in book one, and the police for the most part don't bother him due to the fact that his organized crime tends to keep lesser gangs from going rampant.
** It should be noted, however, that the "serial killer" in ''Storm Front'' was actually targeting Marcone and his gang, so Marcone's extremely limited help was enlightened self-interest. Also, Marcone is the ''only crime boss in Chicago.'' There are no other gangs; he controls his own people ruthlessly, because unnecessary violence is bad for business, and attracts police attention. However, god help anyone, criminal or otherwise, who hurts a child if Marcone finds out about it-- even his own people are to leave kids alone.
* Steven Brust's [[{{Dragaera}} Vlad Taltos series]] keeps Vlad sympathetic by showing how the Jhereg criminal organization to which he belongs has a strict code of ethics. They deal in the vice industry, but don't force anyone to take their wares. They demand protection money, but actually follow through with it. They carry out assassinations, but generally only on fellow power-players. If you're a common citizen who keeps his nose clean, you have virtually nothing to fear. Eventually, however, Vlad becomes disenchanted by criminality altogether.
* The Thieves Guild in ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' 'has standards' and arranges crime in mutally benificent forms (as far as crime goes): rich people pay an annual premium, and arrange for a convenient date to rob an acceptable amount from these rich clients in their own home. Poorer (but not penniless) citizens are robbed in a fairly polite fashion on the streets, their business premises or homes, are not badly injured, and are given a receipt which guarantees they won't suffer another official robbery for the rest of the year. Criminals who don't keep to this arrangement, or who don't display their licence when on business, are dealt with by the Watch if they're lucky... or by the Thieves' Guild if they're ''unlucky''.
** The Troll criminal organisation "Breccia" also fits the mold, even though they are pretty ruthless. Chrysophrase helps Vimes prevent riots on Koom Valley Day by revealing a drug lab.
*** 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).
*** Not just ''implied'':
---> Chrysophrase pushed forward a crate. "Here. Dis is dat troll what was so disrespec'ful of you an' you family earlier. He suggest I would bring harm to your lovely wife or your son. He a bad troll. Very disrespec'ful."
---> Vimes stared at the crate. It was far too small to fit a whole troll. "And what would you suggest I do with him?"
---> Chrysophrase shrugged. "Could start a rock garden."
** It is stated in the later books that the Thieves Guild is slowly evolving into an insurance company. Chrysophrase also claims to be moving into legitimate property and financial services more than his first business, drug smuggling, though he remains a major underworld figure, whereas the Head of the Thieves Guild is an important and respected citizen who, it is implied, could even be a candidate for ''Patrician''.
* Crime bosses Stragen, Platime, and Calaador, all members of the "secret government" of thieves in David Eddings' ''TheElenium'', are willing allies of the protagonists. Each is depicted as being essentially driven by good business sense rather than cruelty. Stragen in particular had taught his Guild to prey more upon the aristocracy than the common folk.
* The hooligans in ''Football Factory'' are pretty close to a organized crime group, and even sell some drugs, but are decent people for the most part, with a code of honour to only fight with other hooligans and the "old bill".
* Recurring character Tony Marcus from the ''{{Spenser}}'' series runs most of the black crime in Boston, but is generally a pretty friendly guy, even when he's threatening Spenser. But just as often he's willing to lend out his people to Spenser to get someone worse out of Boston.
* The Mafia of SnowCrash are, essentially, just another corporation by this point. They engage in gang war with some other, newer and more ruthless gangs—it's stated at one point that a Mafia branch had taken over an area traditionally dominated by the newer gangs, and turned it from a stereotypical gang-crime hellhole into a more-or-less peaceful neighborhood. Of course, in Snow Crash the distinction between criminal syndicate, corporation and country is never entirely clear.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Live Action TV]]
* ''BoardwalkEmpire'':
** Nucky is the city boss of Atlantic City and is tied into the Republican party power structure. He's a VillainWithGoodPublicity, out only for his own gain, but in doing so often helps keep order and works to build up Atlantic City's industry.
*** Atlantic city's primary industries are gambling and party-based tourism, both de facto illegal at the time of the setting, so anyone interested in supporting the community can't really avoid this trope.
** Chalky White is the boss of the black population. He maintains his power over the community by helping them solve various problems. In several scenes he's shown to have a detailed knowledge of the local residents and their day-to-day lives. In one scene, however, several black women accuse him of preying on the community and giving back only baubles like Christmas hams to keep them placated.
* Weevil becomes one towards Veronica later in ''VeronicaMars''.
* ''TheWire'': A running theme shows how druglords seek notoriety and often stand as influential members of the community.
** The Barksdale crew sponsors a crosstown basketball game against the Eastside Proposition Joe crew. The Barksdales also help fund Cutty's boxing gym.
** Even Marlo is seen giving out money to the local kids for back to school clothes. In the process he seems to be on the lookout for new hoppers such as Michael.
** Omar Little, in contrast to the druglords, has a more Robin Hood-esque reputation. He would steal drugs and cash from stashes, and then distribute the drugs for free to people who lived near his hideouts. They would then act as spies for him.
* A major theme in ''SonsOfAnarchy'' is the MC's belief that they're good for the community and help protect it from drugs, violent gangs, and greedy land developers. They're considered leading members of the community in spite of the fact that everyone knows that they're gunrunning criminals. It's frequently pointed out that the Sons really don't care about the community. Their actions are motivated only by the desire to have a safe base of operations to live their outlaw lifestyle. The growth of Charming has been stunted due to the fact that the Sons want to maintain their dominance over it.
* The Ha'la'tha in ''{{Caprica}}'', but [[FantasticRacism only for Taurons]]. Over time, it becomes apparent that [[TheDon the Guatrau]] has drifted from the practice of helping Taurons and is more concerned with making money. This inspires [[spoiler:Sam and Joseph to turn on him]].
* Michael and company have to deal with a gang leader of this sort in an episode of ''Series/BurnNotice''. The episode implies that this gangster's presence in his local community would be ''much'' more preferable to the rival gang.
* Series/{{Castle}} and Beckett Come across one such gang in an interesting characterization of the [[TheIrishMob Westies]].
* 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.
* Gunn from ''Series/{{Angel}}'' used to belong to this kind of gang, and the members of his old gang appear in several episodes. The enemy they defend the neighborhood from is, of course, [[AlwaysChaoticEvil vampires and other demons]].
* Generally averted in ''Series/TheSopranos'' where the predatory nature of the mob is not hidden and the local business suffer regularly, but the Jersey mobsters throw a traditional Santa Claus party and occassionally organize activities for the community. One deconstructed example has Paulie as manager of an amusement fair. He is such a cheapskate that he cuts corners and security budget to the point one ride becomes hazardous and an accident ensues.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Music]]
* The GetoBoys song "[[DamnItFeelsGoodToBeAGangster Damn It Feels Good To Be A Gangsta]]" mentions "feedin' the poor and helpin' out wit' they bills" in the 2nd verse.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Professional Wrestling]]
* Wrestling/{{WWE}}'s Cryme Tyme were brought in as a parody of neighbourhood gangstas, quickly stealing the hearts of the fans. [[FaceHeelTurn Shad]]... well, he got worse.
* L.A.X. could be seen as this to the hispanic audiences, especially once they turned full blown face.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Video Games]]
* Grove Street Families and Varrios Los Aztecas from ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoSanAndreas'', while still committing gang-warfare and gunrunning, nonetheless are shown to abhor the drugs trade, with the Grove Street Families cracking down hard on ''anyone'' who sells drugs on their turf.[[hottip:*:It's even worth following this philosophy from the player's perspective, as drug dealers drop around $2,000 when killed, which, especially at the start of the game where it's much more difficult to come by, is very much worth your time]] Eventually however, the loss of drug revenue makes the gang splinter from the inside.
** Of course, weed and lsd is not considered drug and thus gets a pass.
* This is the justification used by the 3rd Street Saints in ''SaintsRow'', but they [[JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope jump off the slippery slope]] pretty quickly, particularly in the [[SequelEscalation sequels]].
** This is the major theme of SaintsRowTheThird; the gang has been selling themselves out for popularity and power, to the point where the victims of their robberies ''ask for autographs mid-shakedown'', the penultimate choice of the game that decides the ending is completely dependant on if you want to go back to being corporate whores or (violently) show the world you're serious.
* Winston Chu's [[spoiler:and later Wei Shen's]] [[TheTriadsAndTheTongs Water Street Boys]] in ''VideoGame/SleepingDogs'' are "only" strong-arming street vendors and drug running, though one of [[spoiler:undercover cop]] Wei's first tasks for the gang is to defend several "protection clients" from unaffiliated thugs. On the other hand, "merely" running extortion and protection rackets pretty much makes the Water Street Boys a picked-on "lower class" of the Sun On Yee triad, whereas more powerful subsidiaries are involved with more profitable drug trafficking, prostitution, human trafficking, pornography, and money laundering, and the events of the game start with "Dogeyes" Lin's Jade Gang encroaching on the Water Street Boys' territory. However, ''none'' of them (even Jackie) have any problem casually talking about how the last undercover cop they found was tortured before being BuriedAlive.
* The [[{{Yakuza}} Kantou Haguro-gumi]] in ''RaidouKuzunohaVsTheSoullessArmy'' are a quick-tempered bunch, but they're generally Robin Hood-types. When their community is threatened, they are more focused on and do a better job of protecting it than the Army.
* Played straight (until FridgeLogic kicked in) in the fun but forgettable ''ColdZero'' action game. The plot had you working for a Mafia boss after a rival frames him and starts selling a drug with 100% lethality (...[[FridgeLogic wait, what?]]). The game even ends with a SpinningPaper reporting "Mob Boss cleared of all charges!" You're ''supposed'' to feel pleased about this, but you're given no in-game reason to think this Don is any less psychotic than your average Mafioso.
* The Kitaki Family in [[VisualNovel/AceAttorney Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney]] certainly qualify for this-when you meet the boss's wife, she is cleaning up spilled paint on her own, and later, one person comments that the Kitaki's are "locally responsible gangsters."
* The Thieves Guild in Oblivion plays this trope straight. They're based in the waterfront (poor district) and refuse to steal from the poor as well as stealing their tax money back from the guard.
** In Morrowind as well. Gentleman Jim Stacey runs an orderly, profitable business and avoids bad PR. Members of the Guild do not kill, do not rob those who cannot afford to be robbed (no profit in stealing from the poor anyway), etc. The heroes of the Guild are Robin Hood-type figures, and later missions include things like saving a poor woman's home from a corrupt official by stealing his forged land deed, stealing a locket that a retired miner was forced to sell to pay his taxes and returning it to him, and stealing history books to give to a temple trying to help educate the community.
*** Which is starkly contrasted by the opposing criminal organization, the Cammona Tong, a group of xenophobic murderers, drug pushers, slave dealers, and blackmailers. They're the only major civilian faction the player (as an "outlander") cannot join, and the only group other than the cult led by the Big Bad which is never portrayed in a positive light.
* The Yoshimitsu Group of the SoulSeries. They are established to protect the poor from both the corruption of the rich and the permeating evil of Soul Edge.
* The Hidden Beks in KnightsOfTheOldRepublic. For a while they were [[LaResistance a resistance cell]] against the Mandalorian occupation of Taris, and Gadon was planning to repeat that by fighting the Sith's occupation. Unfortunately, Carth turned out to be right - the [[ProudWarriorRace Mandalorians]] like a good one-to-one fight, but the Sith prefer things like [[NukeEm orbital bombardment]].
* The Freakshow in CityOfHeroes are a gang of scary, drug addicted, {{Cyborg}} gangers that exemplify the trope "AnarchyIsChaos". That is, until [[CoolTeacher Miss Francine]] comes along and teaches them how to [[ComesGreatResponsibility to use their powers for good]]. Westin Phipps has you [[KickTheDog kidnap Miss Francine and bring her in for torture so the Freakshow will stop being altruistic]]. [[spoiler:Thankfully, [[VideoGameCaringPotential you can willingly fail this mission]]. EvenEvilHasStandards, after all]]. Friendly Neighborhood Freakshow "inspired by Miss Francine" [[ContinuityNod later show up in a Going Rogue tip mission]]. [[spoiler: Heroes can [[FixerSue rescue Miss Francine from Arachnos]] in another tip mission. Or they can just [[ExtremeMeleeRevenge beat Phipps.]]]]
* The Kings of ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'' are a gang of [[ElvisImpersonator Elvis Impersonators]] who help protect the locals of Freeside, the slums of New Vegas.
** It's a little bit more grey than that. The game makes it clear that although the King himself is a genuinely good person who cares deeply about the members of his gang and the people of Freeside, there are some in the gang (especially his right-hand man) who are really just in it for power and the opportunity to feel important.
* [[CommandAndConquer Brotherhood of Nod]] is the terrorist variation, at least in the public opinion in the Yellow Zones.
* ''Franchise/MassEffect'' crime boss, Aria T'Loak, who controls the [[WretchedHive Omega space station]]; she provides useful information to Shepard, refuses to deal with the Collectors, she even provides the grieving mother of one of Morinth's victims with Shepard's e-address so she can properly thank him/her for avenging her daughter, and in ''Videogame/MassEffect3'' she puts the Blood Pack, Blue Suns and Eclipse crime syndicates at Shepard's disposition to help in the fight against the Reapers.
** Also from Omega, the Talon gang which is led by Aria's old friend, Nyreen: They actively resist Cerberus' occupation while assisting and evacuating civilians caught in the crossfire.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Webcomics]]
* In ''Webcomic/TheAdventuresOfDrMcNinja'', the Cumberland, Maryland mob is led by King Radical, and works for the community through actions such as forcing college-bound students to go to the local Community College.
* The Dark Mage Gang in ''[[http://aetheria-epics.schala.net Aetheria Epics]]''.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Real Life]]
* Al Capone had soup lines set up in Chicago during the Great Depression. He had a soft spot for children, once trying to see that they got good milk. Ironically, the supplies for Al Capone's soup kitchens were acquired by threatening bakeries, packinghouses and other food suppliers if they didn't meet the quota the gangsters demanded.
* In return for release from prison and deportation, Lucky Luciano supposedly used his underworld connections to provide aid against Mussolini's regime in Italy as well as keep American docks free of strikes and sabotage. There is debate, however, about whether he actually provided any worthwhile aid or whether it was all a scam on his own country during a time of war.
* Chicago sociologist Sudhir Venkatesh spent years researching the Black Disciples Nation crack cocaine gang, and noticed they spent a part of their income to hold block parties and paid the families of dead members. The leader of the gang explained that they didn't want to be seen as a scourge to the community, rather a pillar.
* During the days immediately following Martin Luther King's assassination, there were horrific riots on the West Side of Chicago. The South Side, which was generally considered a much more dangerous area was not subject to rioting because the two large and powerful gangs (whose power struggle was what made it such a dangerous area in the first place!) the Blackstone Rangers and the Disciples, cooperated to keep it calm.
* [[http://www.snopes.com/crime/mootloot/mafia.asp This urban legend]].
* African-American street gangs such as the Crips originally started as informal youth-oriented "street clubs" intended to protect the immediate community and counter the effects of the racism (both overt and institutional) that was pervasive in the mid-20th century.
* The notorious MS-13 gang in Los Angeles was started by Salvadoran immigrants in response to attacks and intimidation by already-established Mexican and African-American gangs.
* Many South-American gang with large amouts of profit from drugs provide better saftey and security to locals than the goverment themselves would.
* The Yamaguchi-''gumi'', the largest {{Yakuza}} gang in Japan, is headquartered in Kobe; during the earthquake in 1995, they donated money and a helicopter to the relief effort, and had their men rescuing people from the rubble. This trope is actually a part of their traditional code, since they considered themselves protectors of their communities. Many yakuza traditions go back to vigilante groups in the early Edo period.
* ''Cracked'' 's [[http://www.cracked.com/article/238_5-inspiring-acts-kindness-by-terrifying-crime-syndicates/ "5 Inspiring Acts of Kindness by Terrifying Crime Syndicates"]]
* The notorious Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar invested heavily in the welfare of his HQ city of Medellín, building housing projects, churches and sports facilities. The people of the city, especially the poor, saw him as a local hero. Escobar also offered to pay ''the entire Columbian national debt'' in exchange for immunity.
* When the police and army of Jamaica [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_Kingston_unrest raided Kingston in search of Christopher "Dudus" Coke]]—suspected by the U.S. to be a gang leader and drug smuggler—the fighting just to get into the city block where he was suspected to be hiding killed some 50 people. The search wasn't helped by the fact that Coke is quite popular in his neighborhood, thanks to several charity initiatives he runs there.
* This is pretty much how large terrorist organizations work (and in many places, the line between "terrorist" and "gangster" can be blurry): they provide food, medical services, sometimes even run power plants to provide electricity better than the legitimate government, ensuring a friendly population who will hide them in an area they can base their attacks from. If the legitimate government is especially corrupt or incompetent (or simply doesn't have enough resources to provide for the entire country and concentrates on one area) the terrorists can become the de facto government. This is why Hezbollah is in control of parts of Lebanon, and Hamas did so well at this that it actually democratically won a majority in the government of the Palestinian Authority (and then took complete control of Gaza).
* Solntsevo is Moscow district, that was home of Solntsevskaya Bratva, one of the most powerful 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.
* Example from Balkans. There is a report about case in which Mob retrived a car stolen from man who paid them for "insurance".
* Many of the Mexican drug cartels (especially the old-school ones) could pass as this, with the exception of the Zetas which are relatively new and known for their utter ruthlessness:
** The former drug lord Malherbe is regarded as a great benefactor of his home village, paving the streets and building schools and hospitals.
** Osiel Cardenas, the head of the Gulf Cartel, even after his capture sent trucks filled with toys, clowns and magicians to the children of impoverished neighborhoods and slums every Children's Day (April 30), he even included greeting cards encouraging the children from there to go to school, study and work hard.
** In the towns afflicted by the Drug War the members of the Gulf Cartel reportedly assist people looking for directions and give warnings about violent outbreaks, always remaining them that they are "Here to protect you".
* Many anarchists and other anti-statists who may or may not be comfortable with the "[[AnarchyIsChaos anarch]][[BombThrowingAnarchists ist]]" label believe in a number of natural law doctrines in which the state is considered a criminal organization. Their view of the state and its employees ranges from this trope to VillainWithGoodPublicity.
* Apocryphally, word has it that petty street crime rose considerably in some neighbourhoods of New York City after the FBI successfully disrupted some major organized crime outfits.
* The Loomis Family, a notorious clan of criminals in nineteenth-century central New York State, made a point of not only ''not'' stealing, or allowing their associates to steal, from neighbors, but helping them get goods back that were stolen by others. Allowing this arrangement to break down was one of the reasons the neighbors ended up turning against them.
[[/folder]]

----