OFF THE WIRE
Amy Remeikis
Images of a man police believe may be able to assist them with their inquiries into the shooting at Robina on Saturday, April 28. Photo: Courtesy of Queensland Police
Bikie gangs responsible for recent public displays of violence in southeast Queensland will likely come to regret their actions and the attention they bring, Queensland Police Commissioner Bob Atkinson says.
Recent gang-related violence has only intensified the police focus on their activities, resulting in the state government allocating additional resources to those charged with curbing their activities - including the allocation of funding for 20 more detectives, a development that Mr Atkinson described as “heartening”.
Queensland Police were now focused on dismantling illegal gangs, Mr Atkinson said, and "certainly in the interim, [to] prosecute them successfully,” he added.
For instance, police hope the public attention focused on Saturday’s Robina Town Centre double shooting - stemming from an altercation between two men, one with known bikie links - which left an innocent bystander with a gunshot wound to her pelvis, will help them locate the shooter.
The gunman escaped in the panic after the two gunshots were fired; the man with whom he had the altercation, named by police sources as Jacques Teamo, was released from hospital yesterday afternoon after treatment for a gunshot wound to his left bicep.
Police have released five images of the man they believe responsible for the shooting, wearing two different outfits.
Mr Atkinson said police believe the offender changed clothes after the shooting.
But with Mr Teamo refusing to speak to police, Mr Atkinson appealed to “those on the fringes” of the outlaw motorcycle gangs to come forward with any information they may have.
“We can’t detain him and again, as we have mentioned previously, what this highlights is the added level of difficulty associated with people who simply refuse to cooperate, especially with matters of such an extreme serious nature,” he said.
The Commissioner said the HR process involved in recruiting the additional detectives for taskforces dedicated to combating outlaw motorcycle gang criminal behaviour would be fast-tracked.
The allocation would come from the additional 1100 police over four years that Premier Campbell Newman had promised during the election campaign.
However, despite Mr Newman earlier blaming the Labor party for the east coast bikie problem, Mr Atkinson said it was not his job to play politics.
“Our job is to provide to you, the people of Queensland, the best policing service we can from the resources we have available to us,” he said.
“We could always use more and we are grateful for the additional police.”
Assistant Commissioner Mike Condon said Queensland police were dealing with 14 outlaw motorcycle gangs, the majority of them now making their presence known within southeast Queensland.
Police have not ruled out that the man responsible for the Robina shootings is of Middle Eastern origin, and Mr Condon said officers were monitoring who bikie gangs were recruiting.
New South Wales police have reported a growing incidence of men with Middle Eastern heritage joining bikie gangs in recent years, as the gangs change their image from the traditional “long beard, long hair” man to someone “well presented” in order to legitimise themselves to the public.
“We constantly monitor the process of those gangs taking people on,” Mr Condon said.
“We’re talking to our interstate counterparts to get a real feel about what that means in relation to the escalation in Queensland and we are certainly monitoring that.
Police are not ready to name the bikie gangs they believe involved in the escalated tensions, which has led to several violent altercations playing out across Brisbane and the Gold Coast over the past week.
They also could not confirm that all the reported incidences were linked. Mr Atkinson said the injured parties were “sticking to code” and refusing to cooperate.
But he has vowed to use every resource available to Queensland Police to bring an end to their activities and identify and charge those responsible, which both he and Mr Condon said would ultimately lead to those gangs regretting taking this path.
“When an incident occurs, it is almost a competition about who appears to be the toughest between two groups, but when it is over and the reality hits home, there is regret that the incident occurred,” Mr Condon said.
“They normally don’t have any concerns for the victim, but they certainly understand that it brings attention from the law enforcement agencies.”
“And the regret seems to be that it might hinder their illegal activities, their profit-making activities, and cost them money in legal fees.
“That would be the only regret. There is no sense of any moral compass or conscience with this.”
Read more: http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/bikies-will-come-to-regret-public-violence-police-chief-says-20120429-1xsou.html#ixzz1tTwDRDfP
Recent gang-related violence has only intensified the police focus on their activities, resulting in the state government allocating additional resources to those charged with curbing their activities - including the allocation of funding for 20 more detectives, a development that Mr Atkinson described as “heartening”.
Queensland Police were now focused on dismantling illegal gangs, Mr Atkinson said, and "certainly in the interim, [to] prosecute them successfully,” he added.
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“But I think their only regret might be the focus and attention that’s on them.”For instance, police hope the public attention focused on Saturday’s Robina Town Centre double shooting - stemming from an altercation between two men, one with known bikie links - which left an innocent bystander with a gunshot wound to her pelvis, will help them locate the shooter.
The gunman escaped in the panic after the two gunshots were fired; the man with whom he had the altercation, named by police sources as Jacques Teamo, was released from hospital yesterday afternoon after treatment for a gunshot wound to his left bicep.
Police have released five images of the man they believe responsible for the shooting, wearing two different outfits.
Mr Atkinson said police believe the offender changed clothes after the shooting.
But with Mr Teamo refusing to speak to police, Mr Atkinson appealed to “those on the fringes” of the outlaw motorcycle gangs to come forward with any information they may have.
“We can’t detain him and again, as we have mentioned previously, what this highlights is the added level of difficulty associated with people who simply refuse to cooperate, especially with matters of such an extreme serious nature,” he said.
The Commissioner said the HR process involved in recruiting the additional detectives for taskforces dedicated to combating outlaw motorcycle gang criminal behaviour would be fast-tracked.
The allocation would come from the additional 1100 police over four years that Premier Campbell Newman had promised during the election campaign.
However, despite Mr Newman earlier blaming the Labor party for the east coast bikie problem, Mr Atkinson said it was not his job to play politics.
“Our job is to provide to you, the people of Queensland, the best policing service we can from the resources we have available to us,” he said.
“We could always use more and we are grateful for the additional police.”
Assistant Commissioner Mike Condon said Queensland police were dealing with 14 outlaw motorcycle gangs, the majority of them now making their presence known within southeast Queensland.
Police have not ruled out that the man responsible for the Robina shootings is of Middle Eastern origin, and Mr Condon said officers were monitoring who bikie gangs were recruiting.
New South Wales police have reported a growing incidence of men with Middle Eastern heritage joining bikie gangs in recent years, as the gangs change their image from the traditional “long beard, long hair” man to someone “well presented” in order to legitimise themselves to the public.
“We constantly monitor the process of those gangs taking people on,” Mr Condon said.
“We’re talking to our interstate counterparts to get a real feel about what that means in relation to the escalation in Queensland and we are certainly monitoring that.
Police are not ready to name the bikie gangs they believe involved in the escalated tensions, which has led to several violent altercations playing out across Brisbane and the Gold Coast over the past week.
They also could not confirm that all the reported incidences were linked. Mr Atkinson said the injured parties were “sticking to code” and refusing to cooperate.
But he has vowed to use every resource available to Queensland Police to bring an end to their activities and identify and charge those responsible, which both he and Mr Condon said would ultimately lead to those gangs regretting taking this path.
“When an incident occurs, it is almost a competition about who appears to be the toughest between two groups, but when it is over and the reality hits home, there is regret that the incident occurred,” Mr Condon said.
“They normally don’t have any concerns for the victim, but they certainly understand that it brings attention from the law enforcement agencies.”
“And the regret seems to be that it might hinder their illegal activities, their profit-making activities, and cost them money in legal fees.
“That would be the only regret. There is no sense of any moral compass or conscience with this.”
Read more: http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/bikies-will-come-to-regret-public-violence-police-chief-says-20120429-1xsou.html#ixzz1tTwDRDfP
