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Tuesday, October 15, 2013

AUSTRALIA - New bikie laws doomed: experts

OFF THE WIRE
New laws designed to destroy bikie gxxgs in Queensland might not work and may even make life harder for police.

Criminologists say laws that include tougher penalties, bike crushing, the denial of bail and a new maximum security jail could lead to more crime and force gxxg members into life on the run.

Former Gold Coast cop turned criminologist Terry Goldsworthy says the changes, particularly those on bail, will make it harder for police to nab bikies.

"If a bikie thinks they won't be getting bail, then they won't be surrendering to police," Dr Goldsworthy told AAP.

"They will be saying, 'you can come and catch us, because once you catch us we won't be able to get out'."

Queensland University of Technology criminologist Dr Mark Lauchs said it is hard to say whether the new laws would have the desired effect.

"I can't imagine it's going to make them any nicer citizens as a result," he told AAP.

"The point of announcing them is to be a deterrence, they're not saying it so they can lock everyone up."

Dr Lauchs said he understood there was some logic to keeping bikies in a new prison, but he doubted it would prevent crime or rehabilitate criminals.

"I'm not a huge fan of this prison idea," he said.

"Literally, it's just `get them in prison and lock them away and punish them while they're there'."

Dr Goldsworthy said some bikies would find ways to get around the new laws.

He said bikies would just commit crimes in other peoples' vehicles if their motorcycles were crushed.

"Then we have the dilemma of `do we crush grandma's car because her grandson is a Bandido who committed an offence in it?'" Dr Goldsworthy said.

http://au.news.yahoo.com/a/19402988/laws-to-drive-bikies-to-life-on-the-run/