Where a person is sentenced as a serious offender, the legislation states that the Court must regard the protection of the community from the offender as the principal purpose for which the sentence is imposed.
A person may be sentenced as a serious offender for serious drug offences, violence offences, arson offences, or sex offences. Quite apart from the aggravating effect that the person’s profit driven offending may have on their sentence, that person may also be deemed under the Act a serious offender. Furthermore, if they are charged with conspiracy offences, the evidence elicited in relation to some co-accused may be used against all. However, if it is alleged that the person committed these offences in the context of profit driven organised crime, the way in which these offences are sentenced differs considerably. If a person commits offences, such as extortion, money laundering, conspiracy, drug trafficking, murder, fraud, make threats to kill and so forth, they are charged regardless of their motives, background or connection with a criminal enterprise. In Victoria, unlike in other jurisdictions, we have not enacted specific offences in relation to Organised Crime. These offences are summarised also in this section.
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There are a number of Commonwealth Offences under the Criminal Code 1995 and the Anti-money laundering and Counter-terrorism Financing Act 2006 which fall within the ambit of organised crime and which can be investigated by the Australian Federal Police. Our office represents an individual charged under this Operation, which may be one of the biggest criminal prosecutions in Australian legal history. This investigation spanned some 18 months and involved an undercover operative, telephone intercepts, and surveillance device material. Most recently, in New South Wales, the Australian Federal Police commenced Operation Veyda, which has since charged 18 individuals with importation offences, alleged to have been committed by two international drug syndicates. The introduction of specific organised crime offences has meant that evidence, which would not usually be admissible against a lone accused, can be admissible against all if they are alleged to be participants in a criminal organisation and are charged with a criminal syndicate offence. Organised crime and criminal syndicate prosecutions often come about after months or years of investigation, producing vast quantities of telephone intercept and surveillance materials. Such charges often accompany drug related and fraud related prosecutions and, target alleged criminal activity pursued by an organisation for financial gain.įurther, Courts can impose non-association orders on individuals if they are suspected to be a member of a criminal syndicate, which can also extend to orders that they not performs certain acts, sometimes as benign as getting into a certain vehicle or changing their phone number. In some Australian jurisdictions, such as New South Wales, statutory changes have resulted in the creation of unique criminal syndicate and organised crime offences. What are the laws that apply to Organised Crime? There are also Crime and Investigation Commissions who investigate crime, share intelligence with law enforcement and hold compulsory secret hearings. In addition to the Victoria Police, the Australian Federal Police investigate organised crime on a national level.
In Victoria, these investigations are generally undertaken by the Echo Taskforce and the newly created Viper Taskforce. In every jurisdiction in Australia, there are dedicated Police Units who investigate alleged organised crime, criminal syndicates, Outlaw Motorcycle Clubs, Mafia organisations and familial organised crime. The members of the group are allegedly bound together by secrecy, loyalty and a rejection of law enforcement. Organised Crime and Criminal Syndicate Groups are generally considered groups whose sole focus is making profit from illegal enterprises, such as drug trafficking, illegal tobacco importation, money laundering and firearms trafficking.
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Often organised crime is alleged to occur inside Outlaw Motorcycle Clubs, within families, amongst people in certain communities and, sometimes, in large professional organisations. Organised crime is crime allegedly carried out by a group of people, linked together in pre-planned and organised criminal activity. If you are under investigation, contact our Experienced Team of Lawyers