Western Australia could have the toughest organised crime laws in the country if parliament passes a state government proposal to ban bikies from associating.
Attorney-General Christian Porter said the Criminal Organisation Control Bill 2011 would provide for mandatory minimum terms of imprisonment for bikies convicted of serious offences.
"This legislation will give police and courts the necessary tools to specifically target those who band together under a code of silenceto profit from violence, intimidation, and calculated criminal activity," he said.
Under the legislation, groups that organise, plan and facilitate criminal activity, and who pose a risk to public safety, could become declared criminal organisations (DCO) by a judge.
The police commissioner or Corruption and Crime Commission (CCC) commissioner would have the power to make the application to a judge.
Once a criminal organisation has been declared, police could apply to the Supreme Court for control orders to stop the group associating with other controlled people, going to banned locations, promoting the organisation or transferring funds to the organisation.
Mr Porter said the legislation would also strengthen asset confiscation laws so that all property owned by members who commit a confiscation offence could be seized by police."This bill has been painstakingly drafted to shatter the core operations of outlaw motorcycle gangs and other criminal organisations, while avoiding impacts on the innocent," he said.
Mr Porter said under the new legislation, many offences would carry a minimum of two years imprisonment, or for more serious offences, at least 75 per cent of the maximum penalty for the offence.
"These strong penalties are intended to ensure that if an organisation is declared a criminal organisation by a judge, and its members continue to offend, they will go to jail for such lengthy periods that the organisation's visibility, criminal effectiveness and capacity to attract members will collapse over time," he said.
Mr Porter said the bill incorporated lessons learned by other states' attempts at organised crime legislation and would take at least 10 years to fully implement."The state government is delivering a bill, which will apply so much pressure to outlaw motorcycle gangs in WA that they will find it very difficult to go on running the criminal trade that has been the cornerstone of their existence for decades," he said.
