TAKE ON THE BIKER GANGS

It would be easy to write off the murders of eight men connected to a
vicious biker gang known as the Bandidos as an ugly internecine war
that has nothing to do with the rest of society.

So what if a bunch of stupid thugs are killing each other?

The world will be better off without them. As one senior police
officer said: "It's simply internal cleansing." But what the outlaw
biker gangs get up to has a significant and increasingly costly
impact on society.

As the Harper government vows to crack down on crime, the bloodbath
in Ontario serves as a timely reminder that one of the major sources
of organized criminal activity in this country has yet to be tackled
effectively, despite the valiant efforts of police and prosecutors.

Politicians, Prime Minister Stephen Harper included, have focused
their attention on gun-related street crimes, because that is what
draws votes from city dwellers worried about the safety of their
neighbourhoods. The facts on the ground, though, show that violent
crimes, including assaults, sex offences and robbery, have been in
decline for several years.

A far more pressing problem is organized crime, pursued with ruthless
determination, violence and intimidation by the Hells Angels
motorcycle club and lesser biker gangs.

In a few short years, the Angels have become the dominant criminal
organization in Canada, spreading their tentacles from coast to
coast, and carving out a large and lucrative niche in a variety of
criminal enterprises. These include the illegal trafficking of the
drugs and guns that end up on our city streets, as well as money
laundering, prostitution, pornography and computer-related fraud and theft.

Putting more uniformed police on the streets and imposing stiffer
sentences for the end users will not put the organized criminals out
of business.

Authorities already have plenty of legal tools at their disposal to
smash the Hells Angels. An Ontario Superior Court judge ruled last
summer that the Angels are a criminal organization in Canada under
toughened laws designed to fight organized crime.

As a result, members convicted of crimes face significantly longer sentences.

Police also have greater powers of search and seizure of property.

It would be tempting to add to their arsenal by banning people from
belonging to any outlaw biker group.

But such guilt-by-association laws would endanger core civil liberties.

A better move would be to ensure that law enforcers have all the
human and financial resources they need to get the job done. This
would mean establishing a national task force, led by the RCMP but
with participation from provincial police in Ontario and Quebec and
municipal forces in major cities.

All politicians promise to be tough on crime. But it is equally
important to be tough on the right kinds of crime. Organized crime
should be the focus of Mr. Harper's anti-crime initiatives.
Eradicating the Hells Angels would be a good starting point.