http://www.torontopolice.on.ca/publications/annual/2000/11.html
Title: Annual Report 2000 - Toronto Police Service
;) |
|
|
11
of 32
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
Outlaw
Biker Gangs
Historical
Overview
Outlaw
biker gangs and their criminal activities have existed in our city
for 40 years. The Toronto area gangs that have prospered in recent
years are reflected in their accompanying patches.
Membership
in these gangs has fluctuated over the years but generally has remained
in excess of three hundred bikers. Their criminal activity has historically
centred on, but is not limited to, pursuits such as; the trafficking
of controlled substances and firearms, as well as property crimes
involving tractor trailer cargo theft and distribution. Bikers also
control the strip club industry through intimidation and extortion.
Although seemingly in direct competition for profits derived from
these various criminal enterprises, the gangs have co-existed in relative
harmony.
Present Day Scenario
The outlaw biker community in the Province of Ontario and specifically
in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), has very recently undergone a dramatic
re-organization, which will potentially have significant consequences
for law enforcement and for the community at large.
This re-organization occurred almost overnight. It was initiated by
the Bandidos motorcycle gang who absorbed most of the Rock Machine
organization, as well as individual members from the Outlaws and the
Loners motorcycle gangs.
The
Quebec-based Hell's Angels motorcycle gang responded with a swift
and unprecedented 'patch over' of the entire membership from the Satan's
Choice, Para-Dice Riders and Last Chance motorcycle gangs, as well
as individual members from the Loners, Rock Machine and the Outlaws
motorcycle gangs.
The outlaw biker community in the GTA is now effectively controlled
by four outlaw motorcycle biker gangs, three of which have international
status. They are the Hell's Angels, Outlaws, Bandidos, and the Vagabonds.
Response by Law Enforcement
The arrival into the Province of Ontario of the Hell's Angels outlaw
motorcycle gang in particular, as well as the Bandidos motorcycle
gang, has been predicted by knowledgeable biker investigators since
the early 1980's. As a response in part to this threat, the Provincial
Special Squad came into existence on June 1st, 1998. The squad is
a Joint Forces Operation, which includes membership from eighteen
police agencies within the Province and also includes the Criminal
Intelligence Service of Ontario (CISO).
The primary mandate of this squad is to more effectively utilize province-wide
policing resources, by maximizing their collective law enforcement
efforts against the criminal aspects of outlaw motorcycle gangs. The
Toronto Police Service has been a dedicated partner within the Provincial
Special Squad from the inception of the unit.
The Challenge
The recent shifting and strengthening of allegiances within the outlaw
biker community has re-enforced the need for law enforcement to generate
a strong and sustained centralized response to this flourishing organized
crime problem.
|
|
|
|
| |
|
