ORGANIZED CRIME ON THE RISE

Increase Of 20 Per Cent, CISC Report Says

Canada has 950 known organized crime groups operating across the
country, a jump of nearly 20 per cent from the past year, says an
annual report by the Criminal Intelligence Service.

But RCMP Commissioner William Elliott said the increase is probably
due more to better reporting of their activities by police than to an
actual change in the number of criminals.

"The good news is that we're better at identifying these groups than
ever before," Elliott said in Calgary yesterday.

More than 380 different law enforcement agencies across Canada are
members of the intelligence service, which gathers and shares
information on criminal groups.

Elliott, just one month into his new job as head of the RCMP, said
the collaboration allows police to track and arrest gang members who
operate across city, provincial and territorial boundaries.

He said several large, multi-jurisdictional crackdowns on motorcycle
gangs over the past year have led to the seizure of quantities of
"illicit products" and the arrest of key criminals.

Organized crime groups vary widely in organization and size - from
highly structured groups such as the Mafia and Hells Angels - to much
more loosely formed street gangs.

While the criminal capabilities of these groups vary, a great many of
them are involved in selling everything from street drugs and guns to
stolen cars and human smuggling.

The annual report says about 80 per cent of organized crime groups
are involved in the illegal drug trade, but no single group dominates
the market.

Most groups continue to use legitimate businesses to hide their
activities and launder their cash.

The report also confirmed that nearly all organized crime groups
"network or collaborate" with each other on an informal basis, like
combining funds to finance a large drug shipment or production operation.

Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day said the increase of crime on
the Internet has also allowed criminal organizations to share
information more easily.

"These groups will do that up until an issue becomes territorial --
they'll want to enhance or increase their profits or territory," Day
said yesterday.

"If they feel one group is moving in on the other, that's when we see
some of the gangland-related crime and shootings that have taken place."

The report also says that while the illegal drug trade helps fuel the
market for illegal firearms, most criminal organizations are not
actively involved in the large-scale retail and distribution of
banned guns.