I think that depends on their strength vis a vis the state. The less powerful the state they operate in, the more brutal they can be. If you compare gangs in lawless lands vs gangs operating in lands with stronger gov, the ones operating in weaker states tend to be more violent because there are fewer resources to supress them.

Where can you expect gangs more violent, Japan or Philipinnes? Brazil or Chile?

I would expect gangs to be more violent in the places where they are punished the same for nonviolent and violent crimes. If I'm in a gang and will go to jail for 40 years if I get caught distributing cocaine, I might as well murder if I think it will improve my position.

> I would expect gangs to be more violent in the places where they are punished the same for nonviolent and violent crimes. If I'm in a gang and will go to jail for 40 years if I get caught distributing cocaine, I might as well murder if I think it will improve my position.

Conversely, how many police officers are killed in the US by criminals on the run? Exercise for the inclined reader: Compare with other western states.

In the less governed areas there is not a "jail to go to" it's basically gang rivalry, gang ascension, descension, internal struggle for control, expanding into rival territory, etc., etc. The gangs are in full control. There is little state presence and the one that could be is often corrupted by gangs...

Yes, and in America, things are still bad and gang violence accounts for a huge proportion of murders. Strong governments do not and cannot solve the problem alone.

Devil's advocate here. If a toddler crawled out of a plastic play house and told you that they would arrest you for one million years if you went into the house, how worried would you be?

This is faulty reasoning. Different countries have different laws, enforcement policies, and different environments, and therefore different kinds of organized crime. How brutal do you think the cartels in Portugal are?

Cartels in Portugal? WTF are you talking about? FFS...

Portugal has radically different drug policy than America and Mexico. What do you think happened to the rates of drug dependency and violent crime?