Mark Lauchs

Corrupt police networks: uncovering hidden relationship patterns, functions and roles

This paper applies social network analysis techniques to a case study of police corruption in order to produce findings that will assist in corruption prevention and investigation. Police corruption is commonly studied, but rarely are sophisticated tools of analyses engaged to add rigour to the field of study. This paper analyses the ‘First Joke’, a systemic and long-lasting corruption network in the Queensland Police Force, a state police agency in Australia. It uses the data obtained from a commission of inquiry that exposed the network, and develops hypotheses as to the nature of the networks structure based on existing literature into dark networks and criminal networks. These hypotheses are tested by entering the data into UCINET and analysing the outcomes through social network analysis measures of average path distance, centrality and density. The conclusions reached show that the network has characteristics not predicted by the literature.

Resilience of a corrupt police network: the first and second jokes in Queensland

Resilient organised crime groups survive and prosper despite law enforcement activity, criminal competition and market forces. Corrupt police networks, like any other crime network, must contain resiliency characteristics if they are to continue operation and avoid being closed down through detection and arrest of their members. This paper examines the resilience of a large corrupt police network, namely The Joke which operated in the Australian state of Queensland for a number of decades. The paper uses social network analysis tools to determine the resilient characteristics of the network. This paper also assumes that these characteristics will be different to those of mainstream organised crime groups because the police network operates within an established policing agency rather than as an independent entity hiding within the broader community.

An analysis of the Australian illicit tobacco market

Purpose This paper aims to provide an overview of the illicit tobacco market in Australia. It attempts to build a picture of the sources of demand, size of the market and methods of supply. Design/methodology/approach This paper is based on collation of disparate government reports, industry research, media and court documents. It is a preliminary paper in the absence of better source data. Findings The market is driven by the extremely high tax on tobacco in Australia. Australia’s geography emphasises on large shipments from overseas rather than small-scale smuggling. The likely market is for migrant communities with much higher smoker rates than in the mainstream community. Research limitations/implications It is not yet possible to conduct a well-focused research because of limited official documentation. Practical implications Few government agencies focus on tobacco smuggling, and there are no publications providing a strategic picture of the illicit market. This paper fills this gap by collating multiple sources to produce a market profile. Social implications The Australian Government loses

Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs

1bn per year in tobacco tax because of smuggling. The illicit supply also means that the social goal of the tax, namely, dissuading tobacco consumption, is undermined. Originality/value There are no academic or government publications describing the Australian illicit tobacco market. The only publications are based on research funded by the tobacco industry, which has a vested interest in overstating the size of the illicit market.

Communication Interception Technology

This chapter takes a close look at crimes by organisations which are not legally established; such as outlaw motorcycle gangs and gangs that are founded on ethnicity and indigeneity. The authors discuss how Australia and New Zealand have responded to these organisations and what outcomes resulted from these responses. They provide the history of the groups and their culture. In doing so, they address the misconceptions about the nature and operation of the “gangs” especially in relation to their participation in serious criminal activity.

Are Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs Organized Crime Groups? An Analysis of the Finks MC

Reviewing the current literature surrounding the specific use of communication interception technology (CIT) and its effectiveness, this chapter shows that, according to the literature, CIT usage is limited in areas such as the fight against transnational organized crime (TOC) and corruption. It identifies that the key issues surrounding the use of CIT are legislation (governing usage), privacy concerns and culture. Despite these constraints, specific case studies cited in this chapter provide a valuable means to examine the effectiveness of CIT as a tool against transnational crime. In particular they demonstrate how intelligence derived from intercept products can provide timely and valuable information, be used to increase understanding of how criminal organizations operate, and lead to significant arrests and seizures.

Policing Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs — the ‘One Percenters’

ABSTRACT Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs (OMCGs) in Australia are subject to over 30 pieces of legislation restricting the movement and association of members. The justification for these acts is the presumption that the OMCG are criminal organizsations. This presumption has not been proven empirically by government agencies nor tested by academic research partly due to the difficulty in obtaining sufficient information. This paper tests the presumption by analyzing the data contained in the Queensland Police Service’s application to the Supreme Court to list the Finks MC, Gold Coast, as a criminal organization.

Organized Crime and Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs

This chapter reviews the current policing strategies that underpin both tactical and strategic responses to the threat posed by OMCGs in Australia, Canada and the United States. It shows that a whole-of-government approach is necessary in order to reduce the incidence of biker-related crime in our communities. Pivotal to any successful strategy is the ongoing need for timely and accurate intelligence- sharing amongst participating organizations. The chapter highlights the transnational and organized nature of OMCGs and their propensity for violence and the increasing need for national and international cooperation on the part of law enforcement agencies with various levels of government as well as the private sector.

Gang Theory and Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs

This chapter looks at the theories of organized crime to determine whether OMCGs can be characterized as organized crime groups. It runs through the definitions of organized crime then compares them to the arguments by policing agencies that claim these groups are organized crime. The fundamental question is again whether there are criminal organizations or organizations that have criminals within them. The chapter then covers alternative explanations for the clubs’ activity. Finally, it looks at the case study of the methamphetamine market to demonstrate the nature of organized crime and the role of OMCG members in that market. It concludes that OMCGs are a varied group and that individual chapters may represent a range of activity from criminal organizations to clubs that contain criminals.

History of the Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs

The desire to understand gangs, their formation and their membership has lasted almost as long as the gangs themselves. Theory often attempts to pigeon-hole the gangs, explaining away their difference, through our current understanding of street gangs, youth gangs and/or prison gangs. However, little academic discussion has been undertaken to understand how or why membership of OMCGs may be attractive to individuals from a range of socio-economic, and educational backgrounds. This chapter seeks to reverse that trend, and fill the gaps in our knowledge and understanding previously highlighted by Barker and Human in 2009. In contrast to the selection of a single grand narrative to explain away membership and behaviour, this chapter provides for a hybrid of theories to explain the phenomena of OMCGs.