Bikie culture changing
BIKIE clubs are recruiting younger men with a thirst for violence and gangs are increasingly becoming fractured with internal conflicts rife, a landmark new study into outlaw motorcycle gangs has found.
Australian Institute of Criminology (AIC) researchers interviewed 39 former bikies leading to never before seen insights into the changing nature of bikie clubs.
The research, led by the AIC’s Serious and Organised Crime Research Laboratory, found significant changes in recruitment and how clubs are managed, as well as the values and relationships within the gangs.
Cultural changes within some OMCGs are leading many former bikies, some who have been members for decades, to question their involvement in club life.
Tasmania is home to six OMCGs: the Bandidos, Rebels, Devils Henchmen, Outlaws, Nomads and Hells
Angels. Last year, Tasmania Police Detective Inspector Damien George told the Mercury police had identified about 274 members across the state.
AIC Deputy Director Dr Rick Brown said: “This study has provided first hand insights from former members that show how some clubs are changing.
“They described how their former clubs were recruiting younger men who are more prone to violence, attracted by the gangster image, and who are looking to join clubs to get rich quick.
“There is a real culture change in some clubs, with more conflict and less loyalty between members. And this is having a real impact on the members who are leaving.”
The research found that conflict in gangs is on the rise between older members who want to preserve the original outlaw values and practices of OMCGs and younger members, aged 30 and under, who use OMCG membership to obtain status and money.