GET ORGANIZED

One of the advantages of having an organization with outlets across the
country is that it allows you to consolidate your resources, speak with one
voice, flex your muscles. Problem is, that's just what Canada's biker gangs
have been doing lately, in an escalation of criminal activity that many see
as a prelude to a bloody war.

We know this because this newspaper is also part of an organization with
outlets across the country - Sun Media - and our journalists have watched
the brewing biker battles take shape in Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg,
Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto and London.

In a special, co-ordinated Sunday Sun report, they outlined the background
of the bike gang wars, the signs of approaching trouble, the recent
violence and, most of all, the frustration of police and justice officials
across Canada who've been unable to shut them down.

A few things stand out. First, that bike gangs are a problem across the
country, not just in Quebec - although the death toll there (154 since
1994) is highest and a new war has apparently started up.

Second, the damage these gangsters cause is not confined to internecine
wars. From the killing of an 11-year-old innocent bystander, Daniel
Desrochers, in 1995, to the shooting of Journal de Montreal crime reporter
Michel Auger last year (who wrote the kickoff column for Sunday's report),
their violence, drug-dealing, prostitution and other racketeering have hurt
thousands.

Third, and most disturbing, today's biker gangs are sophisticated and
skilled at evading the law, in court and on the street. Meanwhile,
Canada's anti-gang law, Bill C-95, has been ridiculously ineffective.

Only a handful of convictions have resulted under C-95, which makes
"membership in a criminal organization" almost impossible to prove. Many of
the charges end up being plea-bargained away.

Police - including a task force led by Toronto Police Chief Julian Fantino
- - and provincial governments, have been pushing Ottawa for better legal
tools. Last week, federal Federal Justice Minister Anne McLellan said
she'll make changes, including tougher sentences for membership in a
criminal gang (cops want a five-year minimum).

We'd go further. Make biker gangs illegal, period. Or register and licence
members of biker gangs (law-abiding or not), just like McLellan is already
doing with law-abiding farmers and hunters.

Either way, a co-ordinated, national effort is the only way to curb the
national reach of the biker gangs. It's worth doing. Trust us.