TRUE COLOURS: THE VIOLENCE OF THE 1%

摘要

Since they became established in Australia in the 1960s, Outlaw Motor Cycle Gangs (OMCGs) have represented a criminal threat. The nature of the criminal activities of OMCGs in Australia has evolved in the 50-or-so years since the gangs were first established and now include transnational and sophisticated criminal enterprises spanning commercial drug importation and manufacture and firearms trafficking, through to complex frauds and money laundering. The one constant criminal enterprise, however, is serious violence and the threat of serious violence, which underpins all the other criminal activity. From the earliest days of OMCGs being established in Australia, assaults, threats, intimidation, shootings, bombings, arson and murder have been these gangs' calling cards. Crimes committed by OMCG members were generally investigated reactively, although some proactive targeting occurred. Intelligence was collected on OMCGs and, although the process was somewhat ad hoc, several summary documents were produced in New South Wales (NSW). However, membership of an OMCG seems to have been largely considered to be an adjunct to criminal behaviour by members, rather than a causal factor.