I Am Not A Gangster

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In his autobiography, Cummines details how he met a broad range of people, from members of the Irish Republican Army to American gangsters. This led authorities to designate him as a class "A" prisoner, causing him to be frequently moved from one prison to another. His passion is talking to young people in schools and colleges, deterring them from what they might perceive as a glamorous lifestyle by highlighting the harsh realities of crime and prison.

Two police officers allegedly mistreated the two during interrogations, which led Cummines to speak up, saying that as the two involved were minors, an adult had to be present during questioning. This book was thoroughly enjoyable from start to finish, and has now made me want to read up on the Richardson gang.As well as sharing in detail his criminal hey days he also spends more than a third of the book on his incarceration and how reading and learning led him to campaign and eventually set up charities to look at ways for the Criminal Justice system to stop focusing on punishment and try to focus on giving the prisoners the ways and means to live more productive non-criminal lives on their release. Cummines has criticised the system of high-security prisons, which places many brilliant criminal minds in one location and thus enables them to teach each other tricks and establish connections. At 16, Bobby Cummines became one of the youngest people in Britain to be convicted of carrying a sawn-off shotgun.

Bobby was sent to prison for the first time in 1967, aged 16, and over the next decade he established himself as a ruthless hardened criminal through a succession of lucrative protection rackets and robberies. The latter stages of the book focuses on his reform and turning his life around, which really is quite something. Its very very rare I actually want to read a book, but after watching an interview with this guy I was hooked. Cummines was sentenced to 18 years when an arms dealer (referred to as "Ernie" in his autobiography) informed and told the authorities almost everything Cummines and his gang had done. Only this time his efforts saw him go from custody of Her Majesty's Prison Service to meeting with the Queen herself.

There are a lot of books around about the various criminals and their exploits but few end on a high note, and this has a welcome note of positivity. Cummines began a criminal career at the age of 16, beating up those who owed associates money, but quickly moved on, becoming Britain's youngest armed robber. You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie preferences, as described in the Cookie notice. Ernie worked with the police to entrap Cummines, telling him he had an Uzi sub-machine gun for sale, allowing multiple armed police to ambush and arrest him.

Only this time his efforts saw him go from custody of Her Majesty's Prison Service to coming face-to-face with the Queen herself.He did, however, feel sorry for one death; a hostage in a routine bank heist died due to suffering a serious panic attack, where he vomited and choked on a gag. By bidding on, or purchasing this item, you are agreeing to us sharing your name and address details with that 3rd party supplier to allow us to fulfil our contractual obligations to you. He went to prison and within the first few months he had taken a governor hostage for being "unreasonable".