Hit Them Where it Hurts: State Responses to Biker Gangs in Canada

From civil and criminal forfeiture, to "gangsterism"offences in the Criminal Code, Canada does not lack for tools to address biker gangs. Yet attempts to stamp out bikers have met with little to no success. State responses to criminal organizations should use those organizations' own structures and symbols of power against them. A gang's reputation may be effectively used against a gang, but this strategy poses significant challenges to prosecution. Attempts to use a gang's internal hierarchy and administrative structure can succeed, but may only produce circumstantial findings if not supported by sufficient and substantial evidence. Attempts to combat gang violence by targeting their clubhouses, whether through forfeiture provisions or through municipal bylaws, may prove the most effective methods of targeting biker gangs. The issue is not a lack of resources; those resources are used inefficiently and ineffectively