NCJ Number
198531
Journal
Gazette Volume: 64 Issue: 3 Dated: 2002 Pages: 7-9
Editor(s)
Heather Hamilton
Date Published
2002
Length
3 pages
Annotation
Partnerships and decentralization have proven effective in Canada in countering the criminal activities of outlaw biker gangs.
Abstract
Operation Springtime 2001 provided the first blueprint for partnerships in effective operations against outlaw biker gangs. When the one-day police operation was completed in March 2001, police at the national, provincial, and municipal levels had arrested 138 bikers and their associates during simultaneous raids throughout Quebec and other parts of Canada. This project became the model for other investigations. Successes against the biker gangs have been attributed largely to better coordination and cooperation among police forces and better availability of tools such as new legislation, funding, and personnel to conduct long-term investigations. This article describes recent operations that have succeeded in weakening the criminal impact of outlaw biker gangs across Canada. In Alberta, Operation Shadow involved 200 police from the Calgary Police Service, Edmonton Police Service, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in Alberta and Kelowna (British Columbia), as well as Criminal intelligence Service Alberta. Police agencies in Saskatchewan and Manitoba were also involved in task force operations. The operation targeted the Hells Angels in Alberta. Similar task force operations were conducted in other jurisdictions. Through interagency cooperation in jurisdictional task forces supplied with sufficient resources and personnel, investigations and coordinated arrests have seriously disrupted the criminal activities of outlaw motorcycle gangs.