Australia - BIKIES will be hit with tougher sentences for the same crimes committed by anyone else under sweeping new laws to smash outlaw motorcycle gangs in WA.
And gang members will face up to five years behind bars on a second offence if they are caught riding their motorcycles together, having a beer together or phoning or texting each other.
Gang members can even end up in the clink for sending another bikie a Christmas card.
The Sunday Times can reveal for the first time the extent of the State Government's controversial bikie anti-association laws, which Attorney-General Christian Porter says will "crack the back of bikie gangs" once and for all in WA.
The Rebels, now WA's biggest bikie gang with about 80 members and 40 nominees, will be the first club to be targeted.
Assistant Commissioner for specialist crime Nick Anticich said the laws were designed to curb the proliferation of bikie gangs in WA and the growing number of members.
The laws are expected to spark a fierce legal challenge from bikies. They will be introduced into State Parliament when it resumes in a fortnight and include measures such as:
* Giving judges in the Supreme Court the power to declare bikie gangs as "criminal organisations" and issue gang members with "control orders" to stop them associating with anyone else issued with an order. For a breach, they face mandatory jail of up to five years.
* Mandatory jail terms for certain offences and tougher penalties for bikies than any other West Australians. Manufacturing drugs now attracts a minimum 18 years and nine months behind bars; carrying an unlicensed firearm will get them a minimum three years in jail, and for murder a bikie will be jailed with a minimum non-parole period of 20 years.
* Banning bikies from attending club events and recruiting new members will attract a maximum of five years jail.
* Jailing the masterminds behind offences committed for the benefit of bikie gangs for up to 20 years.
* Banning bikies from places such as bars and clubs, and banning them from carrying guns and weapons. They could also be banned from doing various jobs such as bar work or security, as determined by the courts.
Disclaimer: The opinions in this article are solely those of the writer, and may not reflect the beliefs of anyone at the Biker News Network/Outlaw Biker World.
This site may contain copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of political, human rights, economic, democracy, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.
If you believe that your copyrighted work has been copied in a way that constitutes
copyright infringement and is accessible on this site or through this service,
you may notify our copyright agent, as set forth in the Digital Millennium
Copyright Act of 1998 (DMCA). For your complaint to be valid under the DMCA, it must meet certain criteria, and you must
Click Here to contact acting agent.
Home
