Australia - Police join forces to wage war on outlaw bikie gangs

OFF THE WIRE
Jodie Minus
theaustralian.com.au

GANG-SQUAD commanders from every state and territory met this week to push for uniform national anti-bikie laws and an FBI-style gang-busting agency to crack down on criminal activity by members of motorcycle clubs.
NSW Gangs Squad commander Arthur Katsogiannis told The Australian the traditional approach of police staying within their borders when dealing with bikie gangs no longer applied.
"There are no barriers in organised crime so there shouldn't be any barriers in policing," Superintendent Katsogiannis said. "The key thing we are looking at is being able to work in multi-jurisdiction operations as the way forward into the future."
NSW police lawyers are analysing the High Court's decision last month to scrap the anti-bikie legislation, which had given the Supreme Court the power to outlaw motorcycle gangs and force members to avoid each other or face up to five years' jail.
Superintendent Katsogiannis said the rejected legislation would be "reframed" to meet the High Court's decision, and other states and territories were watching the issue closely with a view to introducing similar laws.
"We need to sit down and get the legislation right and not try to rush them through," Superintendent Katsogiannis said.
"We are happy with the support that we are getting from the government, who are also reviewing it, and hopefully once it's in a workable fashion, they will put it to the parliament again and once it becomes successful it will be something that other states will try to implement."
Police also see the introduction of "fusion centres" in each state and territory as critical to the crackdown on outlaw gangs.
The fusion centres, akin to those used by the FBI in the US, would include representatives from each state and territory's police force as well as investigators from the Australian Crime Commission, the Department of Corrective Services, the Australian Taxation Office, Customs and Austrac.
The officers would work in the same room, sharing skills, database and information.
"That exchange of information and the agencies working cohesively and collegiately, is probably one of the most critical factors in tackling organised crimes," Superintendent Katsogiannis said.
The proposed national approach would include uniform penalties for the possession and distribution of anabolic steroids, which in some jurisdictions is not considered a scheduled restricted substance, therefore creating a highly profitable market for bikies without the risks and penalties of other drugs such as heroin and methamphetamine.
NSW has 33 outlaw motorcycle groups with more than 1600 fully patched members. Police are concerned about the gangs' drive to increase their numbers through gymnasiums, prisons and youth gangs.
"The groups choose to market themselves in a fashion where they are just seen as individuals who want to ride bikes and raise money for charities," Superintendent Katsogiannis said.
"But in reality they are not these social do-gooders -- they are very dangerous and extremely violent criminals."