News

The Australian Institute of Criminology’s Serious and Organised Crime Research Laboratory has released a new paper exploring the involvement of Australian outlaw motorcycle gangs (OMCGs) in violent and organised crime.

• The study analysed the criminal histories of 5,669 known OMCG members from 39 gangs. The data were obtained by matching the ACIC’s National Gangs List with offence data from the National Police Reference System.
• Violent and profit-motivated offending was common among OMCG members. One in four had been apprehended for a recent offence involving violence and intimidation, and one in eight for organised crime-type offences.
• Offending and associated harm, measured using a crime harm index, was concentrated among a relatively small group of members. Five percent of members accounted for around 70 percent of crime-related harm.
• Half of all chapters and three-quarters of gangs had members recently involved in organised crime-type offending.
• In 11 gangs, both office bearers and other members were involved in organised crime, indicative of their status as criminal organisations.
• Those gangs with the highest prevalence of organised crime-type offences were among those with the highest prevalence of violence and intimidation offences.

This study provides, for the first time, a national picture of recorded offending by Australian OMCGs. While highlighting high rates of criminal activity, including violent and organised crime, it also demonstrates the value of law enforcement and policy measures targeted at high-risk individuals, chapters and gangs.


The paper is available for free download on the AIC website: https://aic.gov.au/publications/tandi/tandi586