Using national data on the criminal histories of 5,669 known outlaw motorcycle gang (OMCG) members from 39 gangs, this paper explores the prevalence of violent and organised crime offending among Australian OMCGs.Violent and profit-motivated offending was common among OMCG members. One in four had been apprehended for a recent offence involving violence and intimidation, and one in eight for organised crime-type offences. Offending and associated harm was concentrated among a relatively small group of members.Half of all chapters and three-quarters of gangs had members recently involved in organised crime-type offending. In 11 gangs, both office bearers and other members were involved in organised crime, indicative of their status as criminal organisations. These gangs were also among those with the highest prevalence of violence and intimidation offences.
References
URLs correct as at March 2024
Ashby MJP 2017. Comparing methods for measuring crime harm/severity. Policing: A Journal of Policy and Practice 12(4): 439–54
Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (ACIC) 2017. Organised crime in Australia 2017. Canberra: ACIC. https://www.acic.gov.au/publications/unclassified-intelligence-reports/organised-crime-australia-2017
Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission 2015. Organised crime in Australia 2015. Canberra: ACIC https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20150622012408/https://www.crimecommission.gov.au/publications/intelligence-products/organised-crime-australia/organised-crime-australia-2015
Bain A & Lauchs M 2017. Understanding the outlaw motorcycle gangs: International perspectives. Durham: Carolina Academic Press
Barker T 2017. Motorcycle clubs or criminal gangs on wheels. In A Bain & M Lauchs (eds), Understanding the outlaw motorcycle gangs: International perspectives. Durham: Carolina Academic Press: 7–27
Barker T 2015. Biker gangs and transnational organised crime, 2nd ed. New York: Anderson Publishing
Barker T & Human KM 2009. Crimes of the big four motorcycle gangs. Journal of Criminal Justice 37: 174–79
Blokland A, Soudijn M & van der Leest W 2017. Outlaw bikers in the Netherlands: Clubs, social criminal organizations, or gangs? In A Bain & M Lauchs (eds), Understanding the outlaw motorcycle gangs: International perspectives. Durham: Carolina Academic Press: 91–114
Blokland A, van Hout L, van der Leest W & Soudijn M 2019. Not your average biker: Criminal careers of members of Dutch outlaw motorcycle gangs. Trends in Organised Crime 22: 10–33
Goldsworthy T & McGillivray L 2017. An examination of outlaw motorcycle gangs and their involvement in the illicit drug market and the effectiveness of anti-association legislative responses. International Journal of Drug Policy 41: 110–17
House PD & Neyroud PW 2018. Developing a crime harm index for Western Australia: The WACHI. Cambridge Journal of Evidence-Based Policing 2(1–2): 70–94
Klement C 2016. Outlaw biker affiliations and criminal involvement. European Journal of Criminology 13(4): 453–72
Lauchs M 2018. Are outlaw motorcycle gangs organised crime groups? An analysis of the Finks MC. Deviant Behavior 40(3): 287–300
Lauchs M, Bain A & Bell P 2015. Outlaw motorcycle gangs: A theoretical perspective. London: Palgrave Macmillan
Lauchs M & Staines Z 2019. An analysis of outlaw motorcycle gang crime: Are bikers organised criminals? Global Crime: 1–21
Martinez NN, Lee YJ, Eck JE & O S 2017. Ravenous wolves revisited: A systematic review of offending concentration. Crime Science 6: 1–16
Morgan A, Brown R & Fuller G 2018. What are the taxpayer savings from cancelling the visas of organised crime offenders? Statistical Report no. 8. Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology. https://www.aic.gov.au/publications/sr/sr8
NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOCSAR) 2019. Criminal court statistics 2018. Sydney: BOCSAR. https://www.bocsar.nsw.gov.au/Pages/bocsar_court_stats/bocsar_court_stats.aspx
Pederson ML 2018. Do offenders have distinct offending patterns before they join adult gang criminal groups? Analyses of crime specialization and escalation in offence seriousness. European Journal of Criminology 15(6): 680–701
Pyrooz DC, Turanovic JJ, Decker SH & Wu J 2016. Taking stock of the relationship between gang membership and offending: A meta-analysis. Criminal Justice and Behaviour 43(3): 365–97
Quinn J & Koch DS 2003. The nature of criminality within one-percent motorcycle clubs. Deviant Behavior 24(3): 281–305
Ratcliffe JH & Kikuchi G 2019. Harm-focused offender triage and prioritisation: A Philadelphia case study. Policing: An International Journal 42(1): 59–73
Sentencing Advisory Council 2015. Major drug offences: Current sentencing practices. Melbourne: Sentencing Advisory Council
Sibson E 2017. Tax office targets bikie gang members in nationwide money laundering crackdown. ABC News 17 May. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-05-17/ato-targets-bikie-gang-members-in-money-laundering-crackdown/8533208
Silverstone D & Crane P 2017. Mapping and conceptualizing organized motorcycle gangs: The British, German and Spanish experience. In A Bain & M Lauchs (eds), Understanding the outlaw motorcycle gangs: International perspectives. Durham: Carolina Academic Press: 67–90
Tremblay P, Laisne S, Cordeau G, MacLean B & Shewshuck A 1989. Carrières criminelles collectives: Évolution d’une population délinquante (les groupes de motards). Criminologie 22(2): 65–94
US Department of Justice 2015. Outlaw motorcycle gangs (OMGS). https://www.justice.gov/criminal/criminal-vcrs/gallery/outlaw-motorcycle-gangs-omgs
US Department of Justice 2014. Motorcycle gangs. https://web.archive.org/web/20140415074158/http://www.justice.gov:80/criminal/ocgs/gangs/motorcycle.html
von Lampe K 2019. Public nuisance, public enemy, public servant? Introduction to the special issue on outlaw bikers in Europe. Trends in Organized Crime 22: 1–9
Weatherburn D & Ramsey S 2018. Offending over the life course: Contact with the NSW criminal justice system between age 10 and age 33. Bureau Brief no. 132. Sydney: NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research