BIGGEST 21ST CENTURY THREAT: ORGANIZED CRIME

AS we perch on the precipice of a new century, it's important to look
back at what defined the past hundred years and project ahead at what
will, probably, define the coming hundred years.

The 20th century was marked by three important things: the rise and
fall of communism, marked by the Cold War; two bloody and deadly world
wars; and an increase in technological advancement, the like of which
may never again be seen by mankind.

It's the latter that requires us to pay the most attention.

Much time has been devoted in this space to bringing you the reality
of organized crime in this country and how it affects each of you.

Successive governments in this country have done their best to ignore
the problem while trying to convince you, the voter, that they have a
handle on the problem.

The examples of what I say are all around you every day in whatever
journal you choose to browse with your toast and coffee.

The case of accused terrorist Ahmed Ressam is a timely and nationally
embarrassing example.

We have, to put it mildly, become an international joke. As law
enforcement agencies around the U.S.A. spring into high gear to try to
determine the potential damage Ressam and his cohorts are planning,
Canadian officials are busy trying to escape the blame for the
potential carnage.

Two federal cabinet ministers last week bravely went to the national
media saying our sovereignty is inherently safe and the laws are
sufficient to deal with the problem.

Quite apart from the inherent dishonesty of their remarks, the
stupidity they seem to attach to the public at large is insulting.

Our justice system is in disarray if not collapse. The manner in which
we handle refugee claims has made Canada the joke of the western world
and the target of organized crime and international terrorist groups
seeking entry into the U.S.

The inherent problem is easily defined but not so easily
corrected.

The forces of organized crime are raking in huge profits from their
endeavours. The police, for their part, are having to do with less,
constantly seeking new and more creative ways to stretch a dollar. Not
because the money isn't there, but because the various governments who
supply the budgets can't, or perhaps won't, allocate appropriate resources.

Outlaw motorcycle gangs are a clear example of organized crime. In
B.C., the Hells Angels have about 90 colour-wearing members.

Their profits from various illegal enterprises are astronomical. To
take down one Hells Angel and his criminal operations requires a one-
to two-year investigation with full resources including surveillance
teams, wiretaps and a host of support.

The cost for all this is between one and two million dollars. This is
just for the investigative process. The cost of the subsequent trial
is more.

The allocated annual budget for the newly formed Organized Crime
Agency of BC (OCA) is a paltry $13.5 million.

The Angels, for their part, know the odds are in their favour. But
even at that, they spend a great deal of money and effort to protect
themselves even further. They have an organizational "intranet" for
internal communications to eliminate traditional communications such
as telephones which might be monitored by investigating police. And
they have over a hundred chapters around the world.

This is not to say that governments throwing money at the problem will
solve anything. That's too typical of an ineffective governmental
solution. Without an effective organized response to the problem in
policy, structure and inter-provincial and international cooperation,
no amount of money will help.

Organized crime recognizes no borders. Technology has made it possible
to shift money around the world with a few keystrokes.

North America is the largest market for illegal drugs in the world. By
a long shot.

The illicit drug trade here makes up a little over 2% of the GNP. And
it is growing daily. In generating the huge profits the bad guys need
to find new and creative ways to launder their money.

Perhaps like no other business, organized crime requires cash flow and
reinvestment to survive.

The key to shutting down the criminals is to attack the cash.
Unfortunately, not enough is being done.

The United Nations once tried to make money laundering an
internationally extraditable offence. Less than half the member
nations agreed.

If, for example, our governments made a law requiring lawyers, bankers
and accountants to provide the identity of the owner of the money they
are handling before the transaction is made, it would radically affect
the amount of money available to the criminals and thus their ability
to operate.

If the threat of nuclear war was the defining point of the 20th
century, then organized crime is poised to be the defining point, or
threat, of the 21st century.

We can no longer afford to ignore transnational organized crime. OCA
and its $13.5 million budget is merely an attempt to provide a
parochial solution to an international problem.

Happy New Year.