Adelaide now....5/4/09
POLICE are confident new laws aimed at breaking up Adelaide's bikie gangs will enable them to tackle the problem head-on.
Crime Gangs Task Force officer-in-charge Detective Superintendent Des Bray has revealed to the Sunday Mail that police are ready to move against any gang that might be the subject of a declaration order.
While declining to be drawn on the pending police application to have the Finks declared an illegal organisation, Supt Bray said the measures available under the Serious and Organised Crime (Control) Act would "complement existing police operational tactics". Attorney-General Michael Atkinson has been considering the first police application, made under the new Act, since December 16.
On March 24, Mr Atkinson told Parliament that granting the application was "not a foregone conclusion" and he had written to those identified as members or ex-members of the Finks, giving them further opportunities to make submissions about the application.
If Mr Atkinson decides to declare the Finks an illegal organisation, police will have the power to apply to the Magistrates Court for a control order on any Fink - based on the fact that they are a member of a declared organisation.
If a control order - which restricts contact with nominated persons and places - is breached, the person is arrested.
Speaking for the first time about the measures available to police under the new Act, Supt Bray said the control orders were aimed at stopping members of outlaw motorcycle gangs "freely getting together and planning and conspiring to commit serious crimes that cause significant harm to our communities".
The Act also prevents criminals associating with members of declared organisations or those otherwise engaged in serious crime. They are designed to sever the ties of gang members with those who might support them in criminal enterprises - and stop recruitment.
"It will make it unattractive for people to become involved with gang members because the laws can be applied to anyone who does not have a lawful defence to associate with them," Supt Bray said.
Offences relating to breaching Control Orders or criminal association laws carry penalties of up to five years' jail.
Criminal lawyer Craig Caldicott, who is representing a large number of Finks members opposing the law, said yesterday he was still preparing responses to the correspondence from Mr Atkinson, which was expected to "take a few weeks".
"The whole thrust of this is to strike at the heart of a criminal organisation, but there is nothing in the material that I have seen that would suggest there is a criminal organisation," he said.
One of the major concerns surrounding the legislation remains the use of secret intelligence files that are used as part of the police application. Lawyers and gang members have argued the use of the files is a denial of natural justice and that some of the information they contain may be incorrect. Supt. Bray said the community could be assured an "extreme amount of work goes into each file" to ensure the information it contained was reliable.
Well how do we know when it cannot be viewed or challenged???
