LET'S HOPE HELLS ANGELS ARRESTS LEAD TO REAL CRACKDOWN ON ORGANIZED CRIME

The police in this province receive their fair share of criticism. So we
have no hesitation in taking this chance to praise those police who took
part in what's being billed as the largest investigation of biker gangs in
B.C. history.

Their 20-month investigation has resulted in firearm and drug-trafficking
charges against

10 biker gang members, one of whom has been called the president of the
Vancouver chapter of the Hells Angels (though this is denied by a club
official).

The probe by more than 100 police included an undercover operation, likely
involving extraordinary efforts by dedicated officers. And we salute their
special courage and enterprise.

We also hope their efforts do not go to waste while the charges are being
processed through B.C.'s notoriously liberal and process-focused justice
system.

The Hells Angels Motorcycle Club was formed in California in 1948 and was
soon the stuff of movie legend, with a "bad boy" reputation second to none.

It's been an intimidating presence in B.C. for years. And the police here
have consistently accused it of being an organized-crime group engaged in
everything from extortion to prostitution.

However, local Hells Angels spokesmen have always argued their club simply
consists of a bunch of freewheeling Harley enthusiasts. And there have been
few serious court convictions to back up police claims.

Also, such cases have tended to take an enormous amount of time to work
their way through the courts. Indeed, it's been reported that more than

30 criminal prosecutions over the past decade against Hells Angels members
in B.C. have failed.

So these latest arrests represent, if nothing else, a major police
public-relations coup.

But, the ultimate test of their success will consist in whether the
evidence the police have gathered eventually stands up in court -- and
whether the courts take it seriously.

The B.C. government says it plans to change the way it investigates and
prosecutes organized-crime cases, so as to speed them up.

Let's hope these measures prove effective.

Only if the whole of our justice organization takes a tough, unbending
stand against outlaw gangs -- and the misery they create -- will organized
crime in B.C. be brought under control.