Police aim at lawyers, accountants or
Catholic Church organised crimes fails to get a mention John Silvester
January 5, 2011
Police target gangster lawyers
Crime reporter John Silvester looks at the police crackdown on the lawyers and accountants who abet organised crime.
DETECTIVES will target bent lawyers, accountants and underworld money launderers as part of the biggest intelligence reforms by Victoria Police in more than 30 years.
Deputy Commissioner Sir Ken Jones told The Age police were committed to identifying groups and individuals never before linked to high-level criminal activities. ''Our mission is to get these people,'' he said.
As part of the reforms, the 150-strong State Intelligence Division will gather information on serious and organised crime groups. Dossiers on major players will be handed to senior officers in the crime department to assign to specially selected taskforces.
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Crime squad detectives have been told that organised crime will be given a higher priority in future investigations.
More local crime will be handled at district level.
Under the restructure, intelligence officers will also look at ''serious crime'', which includes violent street gangs, knife attacks, serial offenders and professional burglary groups. ''This will roll out across the state,'' Sir Ken said.
The intelligence model has already found a spate of ethnic-related organised abductions where victims are held until relatives pay a ransom into secret bank accounts. The crimes are rarely reported to police. Organised crime targets will include syndicates linked to identity fraud, internet scams, blackmail and drug dealing.
Under the blueprint, finalised in recent months, investigations will be more nationally focused. Victorian intelligence officers will be assigned to work with other law enforcement agencies, including the Australian Crime Commission and the Australian Federal Police.
''Organised crime works on national and international levels, and so will we be using 21st-century methods to deal with it,'' Sir Ken said. "They are sophisticated and well organised. But our gang is bigger and better resourced. We will co-ordinate our efforts with other law enforcement agencies.''
He said Victoria would host quarterly law enforcement meetings with partner agencies ''to see we are working together effectively''.
Jeff Pope, Assistant Commissioner (Intelligence and Covert Support), said police would also work with prison authorities to monitor jailed gangsters who remain influential underworld figures. ''Prison intelligence is incredibly important. We know these people continue to be of influence behind the walls.''
Mr Pope said organised crime ''facilitators'' - corrupt lawyers, accountants and financial advisers - would be high-priority targets. ''By word of mouth, organised crime figures gravitate to them. If we can take one of them out it can impact on several groups,'' he said.
Sir Ken said the challenge for intelligence-driven investigations was to identify organised crime figures who were not known, as well as dealing with headline-grabbing gangsters.
''The smart ones are not visible and not violent. Only idiots parade themselves around and seek a public profile,'' he said.
''We want to identify the people who are a high risk to Victorians that we are not currently working on.''
Mr Pope, who was recruited from the Australian Crime Commission, has studied police intelligence methods in Britain, New Zealand, Canada and the US. ''We cheerfully admit we will steal the best ideas,'' Sir Ken said. ''It is an exciting time. We intend to build the most powerful unit of its type.''
It is the biggest investment in organised crime intelligence gathering since then assistant commissioner Mick Miller established the Bureau of Criminal Intelligence in 1977.
http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/police-aim-at-lawyers-accountants-20110104-19f36.html
