Outlaw motorcycle gangs and neighbourhood crime

ABSTRACT

This study examines the spatial concentration of outlaw motorcycle gang (OMCG) incidents in Melbourne, Australia. The aim of this paper is to explore how OMCG incidents cluster and to identify the neighbourhood-specific characteristics and crime attractors that are associated with the presence of such incidents. We compare the clustering of OMCG incidents with several other non-OMCG crimes to investigate whether OMCG incidents are likely to occur in areas where there is a broader history of criminogenic activity. The results indicate that disadvantage and residential instability are statistically significant for both OMCG and non-OMCG crime incidents. Ethnic diversity was only significant for non-OMCG crime incidents. Interestingly, crime attractors, specifically licensed premises and tattoo parlours, increased the prevalence of non-OMCG crime types. The study finds greater support for social disorganisation theory and the concentration of OMCG crime than for the presence of crime attractors and crime generators.

KEYWORDS:

• crime attractors
• neighbourhood ecology
• outlaw motorcycle gangs
• violence

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the Crime Statistics Agency Victoria for providing count data of OMCG and non-OMCG data.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1 While law enforcement has viewed OMCGs as organised crime entities, some scholars have highlighted that there are different typologies of OMCG clubs and members and that they exist on a continuum (see Barker, 2007; Lauchs, 2019; Quinn & Koch, 2003; Von Lampe & Blokland, 2020).

2 Crime attractors are locations where offenders specifically frequent for the purposes of committing an offence such as bars, red-light districts, drug hot spots and shopping malls (Brantingham & Brantingham, 1995). Crime generators refer to locations where large volumes of people congregate, such as sports stadiums, entertainment districts and shopping malls which are known as crime generators, as they afford criminal opportunities (Brantingham & Brantingham, 1995).

3 However, two studies found no direct relationship between gang homicide and ethnic diversity (Pyrooz, 2012; Valasik et al., 2017).

4 Australian Federal Police Australian Capital Territory Police Marketing, personal communication, 23 November 2020; New South Wales Bureau of Crime Statistics & Research, personal communication, 21 October 2020; South Australia Police Information Release Unit, personal communication, 19 October; Northern Territory Police Statistics and Performance, personal communication, 25 November 2020; Tasmania Police Specialist Support, personal communication, 24 November 2020; Western Australia Police Force Research Governance, personal communication, 29 October 2020.

5 Crime Statistics Agency is responsible for processing, analysing and publishing Victorian crime statistics independent of Victoria Police. CSA receives data such as criminal incidents and recorded offences from the Victoria Police Law Enforcement Assistance Program (LEAP) database which is then analysed and released by the CSA.

6 The data was accessed from http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/[email protected]/DetailsPage/2033.0.55.0012016?OpenDocument

7 The data from these two variables was accessed from https://datapacks.censusdata.abs.gov.au/datapacks/ Within the downloaded zip file, language diversity data was contained within the 2016 Census G01 CSV file and residential mobility data was within the 2016 Census G42 CSV file.

8 The data was accessed from https://www.data.vic.gov.au/data/dataset/victorian-liquor-licences-by-location The data downloaded was last updated on August 2018.

9 Full club licences were included instead of restricted club licences because such licences incorporate RSL clubs and gaming venues whereas restricted club licences incorporate venues such as community organisations and local sporting clubs which are frequented by a smaller portion of the public, as they are designed for community events such as local football matches or a charity event.

10 General licences are applicable to pubs, hotels and taverns, on-premises licences are applicable to nightclubs and bars, restaurant and café liquor licences are applicable to restaurants and cafes, packaged liquor licences are applicable to bottle shops, and late night general and on-premises liquor licences are applicable to the same establishments as standard general and on-premises licences with the exception that they allow trading past 1:00 am.

11 The data was accessed on 20 October 2018 from https://sexworker.org.au/listings/melbourne-metro-brothels/