VIOLENT bikies are being banned from Surfers Paradise as the police war against outlaw motorcycle gangs heats up.
Police are asking courts to impose bans on violent offenders, many of them bikies, from the nightclub zone, while officers have threatened clubs and bars that harbour or "entertain" known outlaw motorcycle gang members with closure in a bid to clean up the streets of Surfers Paradise.
Bikie conflict is on the rise on the Gold Coast with a gym owned by a prominent Hells Angel member peppered with bullets and a Bandidos associate hit by a shotgun blast in the past few weeks.
Almost 40 people were subjected to court-ordered bans from the Surfers Paradise Drink Safe precinct last year. Many of them were bikies involved in violent confrontations in the nightclub zone.
In the past week two more outlaw bikies, one a Bandido and the other a Rebels member, have been arrested over a brawl in a Surfers strip club.
Police have applied for both to be banned from the entertainment and nightclub hu
A senior Bandidos member faced court on Monday on charges that included his alleged involvement in an incident that left him with a broken nose and a nightclub with smashed doors.
Later that night, police arrested a 30-year-old Mermaid Beach man with links to the Rebels for disorderly conduct outside a licensed venue.
It is believed he was also involved in the brawl at Hollywood Showgirls.
Gold Coast police Superintendent Paul Ziebarth said bikies were firmly in the sights of the law.
"If we have members of outlaw bikie gangs involved in punch-ups in the streets, that's not a good look for the community," he said.
"The community expects us to do something to stamp that out and I assure you we have been."
Supt Ziebarth said gang members who took the law into their own hands in Surfers Paradise would face bans.
"A number of people who are associated with bikie gangs have been accumulating on these lists of people who are getting banning orders from Surfers Paradise," he said.
Later that night, police arrested a 30-year-old Mermaid Beach man with links to the Rebels for disorderly conduct outside a licensed venue.
It is believed he was also involved in the brawl at Hollywood Showgirls.
Gold Coast police Superintendent Paul Ziebarth said bikies were firmly in the sights of the law.
"If we have members of outlaw bikie gangs involved in punch-ups in the streets, that's not a good look for the community," he said.
"The community expects us to do something to stamp that out and I assure you we have been."
Supt Ziebarth said gang members who took the law into their own hands in Surfers Paradise would face bans.
"A number of people who are associated with bikie gangs have been accumulating on these lists of people who are getting banning orders from Surfers Paradise," he said.
"The list could get pretty long, but at the end of the day, if people do behave in a violent way in and around the Surfers Paradise precinct they will be subjected to a banning order.
"Not only will it be unattractive for bikies to come into Surfers Paradise, it will also be against the law if they have a banning order."
He said bikies with violent criminal records were already under heavy police scrutiny.
"We do have quite a significant matrix of persons of interest within the Surfers Paradise area, indeed within the whole of the Gold Coast.
"Some of those people who may be getting attention might be feeling the pinch and they can rest assured that will continue."
... AND STAY OUT
* When pressing charges, police can ask courts to consider banning offenders from nightlife hubs.
* The bans were introduced in December 2010 as changes to the Penalties and Sentences Act (1992).
* Bans can be made as a condition of bail, or in place of a good behaviour bond, usually for 12 months.
* Anyone under such an order caught by police in a Drink Safe precinct can be arrested and face further charges.
http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/bans-aim-to-clean-up-gangs/story-e6freoof-1226236030667
"Not only will it be unattractive for bikies to come into Surfers Paradise, it will also be against the law if they have a banning order."
He said bikies with violent criminal records were already under heavy police scrutiny.
"We do have quite a significant matrix of persons of interest within the Surfers Paradise area, indeed within the whole of the Gold Coast.
"Some of those people who may be getting attention might be feeling the pinch and they can rest assured that will continue."
... AND STAY OUT
* When pressing charges, police can ask courts to consider banning offenders from nightlife hubs.
* The bans were introduced in December 2010 as changes to the Penalties and Sentences Act (1992).
* Bans can be made as a condition of bail, or in place of a good behaviour bond, usually for 12 months.
* Anyone under such an order caught by police in a Drink Safe precinct can be arrested and face further charges.
http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/bans-aim-to-clean-up-gangs/story-e6freoof-1226236030667
