Tough New Laws for Bikie Gangs
Thursday May 14, 2009
The arrival of a new bikie-gang law on Wednesay is yet another piece of legislation for criminal lawyers to concern themselves with.
Under the new law, anyone who recruits a new member to a bike gang that has been officially declared a criminal organisation will face a maximum of five years in prison in NSW.
Announced by NSW Premier Nathan Rees, the legislation follows a law passed last month that allows NSW Police to apply to the Surpeme Court to have bikie gangs become declared organisations.
However police have yet to make applications. Shadow Police Minister Mike Gallacher commented that the legislation announced yesterday is virtually useless because as yet no gangs have been declared as "oulaws".
The new legislation arose out of the NSW Police and the Australian Crime Commission's raid of 31 premises with links to bikie-gang Hells Angels where two men were arrested.
NSW opposition believes that the recent arrest of bike gang members is not due to the NSW government's new laws, but the increase of police resources.
Another recently-implemented law allows police to make public notices when placing a control order on an individual of a declared gang. "This legislation will make it very difficult for them to run and hide," Mr Rees said.
Find out more about the new bikie-gang laws and contact your criminal lawyer. If you're in Sydney, you can visit Sydney lawyers for further information.
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