Report eyes reach of Canadian crime groups
Four crime gangs in Western Canada assessed as being major threats
The number of identified criminal organizations in Canada increased by almost a third between 2022 and last year, according to the Criminal Intelligence Service of Canada.
The federal agency, which is responsible for collecting information from police across the country, said in a report that 205 new organized crime groups were added to the list of 638 after being assessed and ranked by its analysts.
Of the groups reviewed, eight were assessed as national high-level threats, with four in Central Canada and four in the west.
That was down from 14 high-level threats in 2022, but the international reach of the top-echelon groups last year was broader with connections in 72 countries, the report said.
“All of these countries include those to which Canadian organized crime members have expanded their operations or maintain criminal links, including travel that is believed to be intended to solidify their criminal networks, the intelligence agency said.
“This finding indicates that those groups with international links are continuing to broaden their connections and associations, and are establishing or strengthening their networks in every corner of the world.”
The agency doesn't name the specific criminal organizations, but some of the descriptions match the activities within Canada and abroad of B.C.-based gangs like the United Nations, the Wolfpack and the Hells Angels.
The agency report also said that 123 of the organized crime groups are assessed as medium-level threats, while 507 are assessed as low-level threats.
The hundreds of groups analyzed are just some of the 3,500plus criminal organizations believed to be operating in Canada.
“The identification of new groups and lack of recent information on previously identified groups consists of a large and increasing reporting gap,” the report noted.
The gangs are ranked based on their involvement in myriad criminal activity, including use of violence and money laundering, and their transnational reach and level of sophistication in terms of public sector infiltration, technological capacity and criminal networks.
Those “that have been identified as higher-level threat groups use violence as an integral part of their strategy, are involved in public sector infiltration, have access to multiple businesses, are criminally associated to other (gangs), and have a broad geographic scope.”
The report confirmed what Postmedia reported — that more criminal organizations are working together at the highest levels, even when their lower-level associates are in conflict.
It said that 77 per cent of groups have “reported collaborative links to others, either directly or via common associates. As in prior years, the three most interconnected criminal networks include outlaw motorcycle gangs, mafia groups, and street gangs.”
Eighty-four of the assessed criminal organizations “maintain collaborative criminal associations with five or more other groups. Of these, 24 have an international scope and 22 have an interprovincial scope.”
Fewer than 10 per cent of the criminal organizations “have access or links to the public sector to further their criminal activities, or to have attempted to corrupt or infiltrate public sector agencies or departments.”
But the report said sectors “that are more attractive to corruption attempts” include law enforcement, border services and correctional services, as well as “employees at international ports who facilitate the importation and/or exportation of illicit goods.”
The acting director of the Criminal Intelligence Service of Canada, Ken Lamontagne, said in the report's introduction that “serious and organized crime remains one of the preeminent threats to Canada's security, contributing to thousands of deaths annually from overdoses due to illicit drugs, as well as firearms and gang violence.”
The agency included 122 socalled street gangs in its review and noted that many pose “a significant threat to public safety within their respective communities and collectively representing a national-level issue” because of their involvement in shootings and murders.
And the report said some of the groups have become a higher-level threat than before, with 28 of them assessed at or above a medium threat level.
“As street gangs increasingly expand their capabilities, networks, and scopes, the risk of interprovincial — and international — violence is heightened, due to the intrinsically violent nature of these groups and their propensity for indiscriminate acts of violence.”
The report includes details of gang violence in different parts of Canada, citing the B.C. gang war as a major issue as “violence has expanded provincewide and into other provinces, including Alberta and Ontario. Groups involved in this conflict frequently engage in overt acts of violence with a disregard for public safety. Out-of-province gang members, particularly from Alberta and Ontario, are being recruited to commit violence in the Lower Mainland.”