Outlaw motorcycle gangs in Australia: exploring variability in gang member involvement in organized crime
Recent research into Australian outlaw motorcycle gangs (OMCGs) has found high rates of officially recorded offending compared with the general population, including violent and profit-motivated offenses. This same research has highlighted the concentration of organized crime–type offenses among a r...
| Authors: | ; ; |
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| Format: | Print Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2025
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| In: |
Outlaw bikers as organized crime
Year: 2025, Pages: 61-83 |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Summary: | Recent research into Australian outlaw motorcycle gangs (OMCGs) has found high rates of officially recorded offending compared with the general population, including violent and profit-motivated offenses. This same research has highlighted the concentration of organized crime–type offenses among a relatively small group of chapters and variability in the extent to which clubs have patched members and office bearers who have been proceeded against for organized crime–type offenses. Building on this work, and using national data on the officially recorded criminal histories of 5,535 members from 39 Australian OMCGs, we examine the relationship between individual and group-level characteristics and involvement in organized crime. Organized crime–type offenses were more common among younger members, those with more extensive prior criminal histories and with prior drug and fraud offending, and among patched members. Office bearers were no less likely to have been proceeded against than non-office bearers. Members with a history of inter-jurisdictional mobility, in clubs with a higher degree of recruitment activity and a foothold in multiple jurisdictions, were also more likely to be proceeded against for organized crime offenses. The size of a group was not associated with organized crime. The results highlight the importance of criminal expertise, trust, networks, and organization in facilitating OMCG involvement in organized crime, and reaffirm the need for nuanced policy responses that reflect the heterogeneity of OMCGs in the Australian context. |
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| Item Description: | Literaturverzeichnis: Seite 80-83 |
| Physical Description: | Diagramme |
| ISBN: | 9781138490956 |
