Policing organised crime and terrorism
Presentation to Year 12, Legal Studies Class,
Ryde Secondary College,
Clive Small
November 2011
1 What is organised crime? How is it defined?
A quick search of the internet identified more than 100 different ‘official’ definitions of organised crime. The causes of these differences include differences in:
· judicial systems,
· police methods of recording organised crime,
· the way law enforcement activities and criminal offences are recorded, and
· political sensitivities and priorities.
While there is no point in us trying to resolve the problem of definition today, a useful and simple definition is that of the United Nations 2004 Convention against Transnational Organised Crime which defines an ‘organised criminal group’ rather than organised crime, as being:
a structured group of three or more persons, existing for a period of time and acting in concert with the aim of committing one or more serious crimes or offences established in accordance with this Convention, in order to obtain, directly or indirectly, a financial or other material benefit.
2 A few observations about organised crime
1. Organised crime is not a new phenomenon.
2. Organised crime can be local, state, national or transnational (international).
3. The power of organised crime varies from country to country and its forms are influenced by the geographic, economic, social and political factors and opportunities in individual countries.
4. Organised crime is an increasing problem in most countries and one of the biggest challenges faced by many countries, including Australia.
5. There is no single or few monolithic global criminal organisations or ‘global mafia’ type organisation. It operates more like federations, federations within federations and independent states that at times co-operate for a specific purpose (usually mutual benefit) and at other times compete fiercely and often violently with one another for profits and territories.
6. Organised crime groups are highly adaptive to world changes and new opportunities.
7. Unlike volume crime, organised crime is not a series of unrelated explosions but a largely hidden form of decay that eats away at society from below the surface. The point at which it becomes visible is the point at which it has so effectively invaded society that its removal is virtually impossible.
3 The size of the problem
Organised crime is a multi-billion dollar a year industry:
· The Australian Crime Commission estimates that Australian are losing up to 15 billion dollars a year to organised crime.
· Several billions in illegal revenues are reinvested in the Australian economy and compete unfairly with legitimate business activities.
· There are also the billions that are spent on the cost of fighting organised crime such as police, customs, courts, jails and so on.
· A 2007 seizure in Melbourne of 4.4 tonnes of ecstasy, or around 15 million tablets, had no identifiable impact on the drug market---no shortage or price increase. To the contrary, the price of ecstasy dropped.
· The overseas supplier of the ecstasy was the Calabrian ‘ndrangheta which has been estimated to turn over $70 billion a year; around $30 billion from drugs, and which the Italian anti-Mafia Directorate has described as regarding Australia as a ‘paradise’ for drug profits.
· Seizures are just part of the cost of doing business and are outweighed by successful importations; networks remain in place.
· Results of the most recent National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre survey indicate that illicit drugs are, generally speaking, readily available:
o Ecstasy – 88% of users said it was very easy or easy to find;
o Cocaine – 58% of users said it was very easy or easy to find (Recently a convicted drug dealer described cocaine use amongst his social set in the eastern suburbs as being ‘just like [having] a glass of wine’);
o Speed – 78% of users said it was very easy or easy to find, and
o Heroin – 185 of users said it was very easy or easy to find.
· cannabis remains the most commonly used and readily available illicit drug in Australia
· In the mid 1990s the Queensland Advisory Committee on Illicit Drugs estimated 71 tonnes of cannabis was cultivated in Queensland each year. Its wholesale value was estimated at $283.6 million while its street value was estimated at $632.8 million. It was Queensland’s second biggest cash crop. Queensland was part of a national distribution network.
· In just six months in 2004, the violent eastern suburbs criminal Shayne Hatfield and his offsider ‘Tom’ between them sold 200 kilograms of cocaine. Their share of the profits for six months work $6 million; their supplier’s share, a woman we will call ‘Aunty’, $24 million.
· Illicit drug use can be dismissed as ‘social use’, ‘party use, and so on, but for every drug sold, around 20 to 30 cents of every dollar paid for a drug eventually finds its way to organised crime.
· In August 2004 an Australian Crime Commission assessment of outlaw motorcycle gang involvement in organised crime---OMCGs play a significant role in amphetamine production---was leaked to the media. The assessment identified 97 crime cells, 32 of which were rated ‘high threat’. Ten of which exist in New South Wales and eight in Victoria.
4 A few critical points in the
history of organised crime in Australia
1920-30s Sydney saw organised prostitution, razor gangs, gambling, liquor, etc, centred around Darlinghurst. There is evidence that cocaine was supplied to prostitutes to keep them on the job.
Calabrian mafia type organisations emerged in the Queensland cane fields. The violence that followed saw 10 murders and several attempted murders, and at least 30 bombings aimed at intimidation.
Similar mafia organisations emerged in New South Wales (including Griffith) and Victoria. In both states murder and violence followed.
Mid 1960s Saw the emergence of the first outlaw motorcycle gangs. Over the next 20 years, more than 30 gangs were established across Australia.
Sydney saw a gang war that resulted in at least nine assassinations, several attempted assassinations and bombings. The end of the gang war saw the emergence of big three---Lennie McPherson, George Freeman and Stan Smith---and the modernisation of organised crime, with a primary focus on infiltrating licensed clubs (South Sydney Juniors, Motor Club, Mariners Club and others) to skim money, establishment of illegal casinos, starting price bookmaking and protection rackets.
McPherson and Freeman invited Middle Eastern crime figures to share in the organised crime pie through the first Lebanese godfather Frank Hakim
Early 1970s Bob Trimbole introduced the ‘Ndrangheta---the Calabrian mafia---to the cannabis trade. This led to the 1977 murder of Donald Mackay, the growth of a national cannabis production and distribution network, and transformation of the mafia into a modern organised crime syndicate.
Heroin and other drug markets exploded and created opportunities for existing criminals to climb the organised crime ladder and for the emergence of ‘new’ crime figures. The drug trade saw organised crime become increasingly disorganised.
1974 The Moffitt Commission of Inquiry into Allegations of Organised Crime in Clubs warned the government and public of a growing organised crime and corruption problem.
1977-80 The New South Wales Royal Commission into Drug Trafficking (Woodward Royal Commission) warned of the growing threat of the drug trade, the role played in it by the ‘ndrangheta---the Calabrian mafia---and the need for an improved law enforcement response.
1977-80 The Australian Royal Commission of inquiry into drugs (Williams Royal Commission). It focussed on drug policy rather than individuals and drug networks.
1981-83 The Commonwealth Royal Commission into Drug Trafficking (Stewart Royal Commission) which had a primary focus on the Mr Asia drug syndicate was established.
1980-84 The Commonwealth Royal Commission on the Activities of the Federal Ship Painters and Dockers Union (Costigan Royal Commission) was established to investigate organised crime influences and drug trafficking in the union.
Mid 1980s Outlaw motor cycle gangs had begun to play a significant and increasing role in the drug trade amid violence increased.
The Sydney gang war, which had several causes including the placement of illegal gaming machines in small clubs around Sydney, the drug trade and egos, saw several murders and attempted murders.
Late 1980s Organised crime continued to thrive. There were two primary and somewhat independent strands. One, the McPherson, Freeman and Smith group and their dominance of the traditional rackets, and the other, the explosion of the drug trade and emergence of new ‘leaders’.
Mid 1990s The Royal Commission into the New South Wales Police Service (Wood Royal Commission) was established. It exposed widespread corruption between police and criminals and recommended a program of significant reform.
Late 1990s Closure of the Wood Royal Commission saw the emergence of a spate of ‘new’ bosses---several of whom had previously operated under the broad umbrella of the McPherson-Freeman network---emerge in a spate of violence across Kings Cross, south and south-west Sydney, as they attempted to assert their authority and control over areas of the drug trade. The shortlived gangs of Danny Karam and Michael Kanaan were at the centre of the violence.
Early 2000s For the first time, several Muslim Lebanese crime gangs emerged as major players, spreading violence across Sydney’s south and south-west; the cause of which were family disputes and the drug trade. While the core gangs were Muslum, their drug and weapons networks looked like the United Nations---they were not limited by race or religion and included Caucasian Australians, Greeks, Pakistanis, Chinese, Turks, Philippinos, Italians, Vietnamese, 5T gang; outlaw motorcycle gangs, and licensed gun dealers.
Mid 2000s There was a spate of violence between outlaw motorcycle gangs.
Late 2000s It is the lull before the next storm.
5 Policing organised crime
5.1 Jurisdictional landscape
Australia’s federal system of government and Constitution reserves only a very small part of criminal activity and criminal legislation to the federal parliament and its departments. Significant is taxation, money laundering, illegal importations, including drugs but not (in practical terms) trafficking, and frauds against the commonwealth.
The landscape is further complicated because of the divide between the states and territories and the states and territories and the commonwealth.
The most significant attempts to bridge the gap are through the co-ordinating and limited investigative role of the Australian Crime Commission (formerly the National Crime Authority) and the strengthening by state and federal law enforcement and regulatory bodies of their strategic alliances.
The Australian Federal Police has extended their overseas liaison and intelligence capacities, while the Australian Customs Service has moved to increase their interdiction capacities.
5.2 A competition for resources
A major challenge for law enforcement executives is the allocation of limited resources over competing priorities. On one view, at least for state and territory law enforcement executives, the biggest competition for resources is between local or volume crime and serious and organised crime.
Generally speaking it is volume crime that catches the attention of the public and politicians. The public want to feel safe on their streets and feel that they or members of their family are most likely to be the victims of theft, housebreaking and violence. Even the drug problem is seen to be largely a local problem. Those who offer their children drugs are local sellers (often ‘friends’) and many who commit property and other crimes against them are also local residents.
On the other hand, organised crime and its kingpins are seen to be distant from local communities. Much organised crime is like a decay that eats away at society below the surface. By the time it is seen to be a problem it is too late. It has caused serious damage and is a threat to society and its institutions.
6 Some challenges of investigating organised crime
The thorough investigation of organised crime poses several challenges and includes:
· Australia’s federal system of government and Constitution creates turf wars and poses the question, “Who is responsible for organised crime and for what aspects of it?’ (Arguably this is the most fundamental challenge facing the investigation of organised crime in Australia.)
· The political wrangling, point scoring and buckpassing observed and set out by Justice Athol Moffitt in his book A Quarter to Midnight.
· Justice Woodward’s claim, during a 1986 Four Corners interview that his 1977-80 Royal Commission into drug trafficking and the murder of Donald Mackay was treated by the government as a Claytons royal commission to satisfy the public (ie, a short term political imperative rather than a solution of substance).
· Political spin over substance:
o In 2009 the NSW Police Minister, Michael Daley, announced a police crackdown had resulted in $181 million worth of illegal drugs being taken off the streets. ‘These results,’ he said, ‘show police are having a big impact on the amount of drugs making their way onto our streets.’ Removing any drugs from the streets is worth celebrating – but a ‘big impact’? For example, 16 kilograms of cocaine was seized in the first nine months of 2009, compared with 9 kilograms in the whole of 2008. Let's put those figures in perspective. In just six months in 2004, the violent eastern suburbs criminal Shayne Hatfield and his offsider ''Tom'' between them sold 200 kilograms of cocaine. Their share of the profits for six months work $6 million; their suppliers share, $24 million.
o After the fatal bikie bashing in March 2009 at Sydney Airport, the State Government rushed to announce 975 people had been charged by police during a two-year crackdown on bikie gangs. However, just nine were charged specifically with being members of a criminal gang, and only 40 were charged by the Gang Squad. Most of the other charges were laid by local police over traffic offences, breaching bail, and property and street offences.
o As gang violence raged across south-western Sydney early this decade, the Carr government blamed the Commonwealth for the number of illegal guns on our streets. ‘There's no point our police chasing their tails on Sydney streets trying to get handguns off those streets,’ the then police minister Michael Costa said, ‘if the Federal Government is letting down the side by not dealing with the question of the source, and that is the illegal handguns that come across our porous borders.’ The fact was that most handguns used in crime were not imported, but stolen from licensed gun dealers, ie, they were a state responsibility.