Report on the Organised Crime Group Survey
March 1999

Hamish McCardle, Organised Crime Project
Police National Headquarters, PO Box 3017, Wellington

Executive summary

BACKGROUND

In May 1998, the New Zealand Police initiated the 'Organised Crime Project' (OCP) at Police National Headquarters. The aim of the Project is to prepare a Police strategy on combating organised crime in New Zealand for the period 1999 - 2004.

One of the first issues for the OCP was to determine a working definition of 'organised crime'. It is widely acknowledged that most attempts at defining the frequently used term have shortcomings. A definitional process was developed by the OCP and distributed with the survey for respondents to follow when answering the survey.

The survey comprises part of a larger research design intended to inform the overall Organised Crime Strategy. The survey is limited to Police knowledge and perceptions of organised crime groups. The survey aimed to:

• Estimate the number of organised crime groups that Police believe to operate in New Zealand; and
• Identify the general nature of organised crime groups in New Zealand as known to Police. A mail out/mail back survey was chosen as the most appropriate data collection procedure for reasons of economy and speed. The survey consisted of a standardised 10-page questionnaire mailed to all District Managers with a survey information pack. A sample of the survey form and information pack is attached as Appendix A.

• The information pack provided definitions as a guide to districts on what groups were to be considered as 'organised crime'. For ease of identification the groups were separated into 5 general categories:

The information on Police perceptions of organised crime groups contained in the responses, must be regarded as indicative only, rather than a complete representation of the nature and extent of organised crime groups in New Zealand.

KEY FINDINGS

• Using the survey's definition of organised crime, the number of organised crime groups in New Zealand is likely to be between 337 and 660 groups.
• The number of Category A (structured gangs) and Category B (structured groups other than gangs) identified in the survey was similar to the number identified previously by the National Bureau of Criminal Intelligence (NBCI).
• Over half the organised crime groups identified in the survey (59%) were affiliated or connected with other such groups.
• The survey revealed that 82% (277) of organised crime groups have an internal domestic focus, with a high proportion of that number (36% or 123 groups) being 'local' only.
• There was a strong view that the majority of New Zealand organised crime groups are autonomous (217 groups) ie. they act independently and don't take direction from any other group.
• The result of the questions on size of organised crime groups and previous convictions of group members mirror each other, indicating that in general the majority of people who belong to organised crime groups have previous convictions. The variation between the two responses over the four main categories is only 9%.
• It is likely that most organised crime groups are a post 1960 phenomenon.
• There is evidence that Category A organised crime groups are registering themselves with the Companies Office as Trusts, Incorporated Societies and Limited Companies and that such groups exist in each of the twelve Districts.
• The survey confirmed that organised crime groups are involved in a wide range of criminal activities for profit. Some of the illegal activities are the responsibility of other government agencies (Customs for illegal importations, WINZ for benefit fraud, Internal Affairs for pornography, and others).
• Organised crime groups are most commonly involved in offences such as theft and burglary, the sale of drugs, the theft of motor vehicles, and intimidation and violence offences respectively.
• Organised crime groups are infiltrating government departments and other agencies in order to obtain privileged information and to influence decisions to their advantage. While the reported incidence of this type of activity in the survey is low (26 groups), this may be because it can be hard to detect.
• The criminal activity of organised crime groups is thought by police to have had an adverse affect on public confidence. The actions of some groups inhibit police investigations and affect the willingness of the public to report crimes or partake in the justice system.
• A small proportion (14%) of organised crime groups are thought to have diversified into business activities (eg. massage parlours, contracting, fishing).
• Organised crime group members are most likely to have crime activities, local ties, and involvement with drugs as common features. However, many are also thought to have blood ties, ethnicity and prison ties in common.

CONCLUSION

This survey of organised crime groups has confirmed several commonly held police views on organised crime in New Zealand. Their diversity of criminal activity, affiliations and structure characteristics have long been talked about by police but never subjected to any form of research. The survey has highlighted the lack of a consistent and agreed understanding of what organised crime is within the New Zealand Police. Whilst the definitional approach adopted for the survey was well received by most districts, some districts disagreed with the scope of the definition. This mix of district opinion seems to reflect the debate internationally where dissension continues over almost every aspect of what may or may not be organised crime. The definitional issue will be the subject of further work within the NZ Police and the wider Justice Sector in the following months. Notwithstanding, how one defines organised crime is of more than academic interest, since strategies for its control and who police target develop from an understanding of how and why it is organised. In this regard the definitional approach of the OCP survey has increased police knowledge of the potential organised crime problem in New Zealand by including a wider range of groups than previously considered.

The survey reinforced the importance of a system that allows consistent recording and collation of data on organised crime. No real assessment can be made of the growth or decline of such activity whilst the current problems in terms of unclear definitions and poor data remain. The difficulty many respondents had with answering questions on the financial, business and asset aspects of the organised crime groups indicates that many Police staff are still focused on offence based evidence gathering rather than targeting the money trail of organised crime. The survey confirms the relevance of a 'whole of government' approach to tackling organised crime. The survey provides reports of diverse income based offending that involves an investigation response from different government agencies, and evidence of infiltration and possible corruption within different government agencies and major public companies. It also reports on the impact that organised crime has on public confidence.

The survey will assist Police and the Police Executive to better understand the potential size, number and nature of organised crime groups in New Zealand. This in turn will assist Police to form appropriate strategies and dedicate the necessary resources to counter the threat that organised crime poses to New Zealand.

FUTURE DIRECTION

The report does not contain specific recommendations, as the findings of the survey need to be analysed with other research work being undertaken by the OCP (such as the staff resource survey, and financial analysis of areas of police investigation).

The findings of the survey, and the definitional approach, are to be debated in a wider forum with other New Zealand agencies. This is also part of the ongoing work of the OCP as it prepares the Organised Crime Strategy for Police and will occur over the middle part of 1999.

As the findings of the survey are reliant on validation of the definitional approach, it would be premature to make any recommendations based on this first report alone. However, it will help inform the thinking of both Police and partner agencies in relation to organised crime, and will act as a benchmark for future research in this area.

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Table of contents

FORWARD
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 3
Figures 6
Tables 7
1. Background to the Survey 8
2. Survey Method 12
3. Results 14
? ? 3.1 Number of organised crime groups 14
? ? 3.2 Categories of organised crime groups 14
? ? 3.3 Group structure 15
? ? 3.4 Affiliations and spheres of influence 19
? ? 3.5 Size, criminality and membership 20
? ? 3.6 History and company office registration 22
? ? 3.7 Illegal income 23
? ? 3.8 Evidence of corruption and infiltration 25
? ? 3.9 Evidence of physical harm and community confidence issues 26
? ? 3.10 Evidence of professionals involved 28
? ? 3.11 Evidence of organised crime in legitimate business 28
? ? 3.12 Common traits of members belonging to organised crime groups 29
4. Discussion 30
5 References 35
6 Appendix A Sample survey form and definition sent to Districts 36

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• Report on the Organised Crime Group Survey, March 1999
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