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Chapter 1 - The conduct of the inquiry
Terms of reference
1.1
The duties of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on the Australian Crime
Commission (ACC) are set out in section 55(1)(d) of the Australian Crime
Commission Act 2002. These duties, inter alia, require the committee to examine
trends and changes in criminal activities, practices and methods and report to
both houses of the parliament any change that the committee thinks desirable to
the functions, structure, powers and procedures of the ACC.
1.2
On 4 December 2006, pursuant to its remit under paragraph 55(1)(d), the committee
initiated an inquiry into the future impact of serious and organised crime on
Australian society. The terms of reference required the inquiry to have
particular reference to:
- Future trends
in serious and organised crime activities, practices and methods and their
impact on Australian society;
- Strategies
for countering future serious and organised crime;
- The
economic cost of countering future organised crime at a national and state and
territory level; and
- The
adequacy of legislative and administrative arrangements, including the adequacy
of cross-jurisdictional databases, to meet future needs.
Conduct of the inquiry
1.3
In accordance with usual practice, the committee advertised the inquiry
in the Australian newspaper. The advertisement first appeared on Tuesday 12 December 2006, and subsequently ran for several months. In addition, the committee
wrote to a range of organisations and individuals with a likely interest in the
inquiry.
1.4
The inquiry received 25 written submissions. These were published and
made available on the committee's website. A list of submissions received is contained
in appendix 1.
1.5
The committee conducted seven public hearings as part of the
inquiry. Hearings were held in Perth on 30 April 2007; Melbourne on 1 May 2007; Brisbane on 7 June 2007; Sydney on 8 June 2007; and Canberra on 5 July 2007, 6 July 2007 and 13 August 2007. Details of witnesses who appeared at these hearings are listed in appendix 2.
1.6
A number of documents were tabled in the course of the inquiry. These
are listed at appendix 3.
1.7
Additional information received by the committee is listed at appendix 4.
1.8
Appendix 5 contains the definition of serious and organised crime as set
out in section 4 of the Australian Crime Commission Act 2002.
Report structure
1.9
The report addresses the committee's terms of reference in the following
chapters:
1.10
Chapter 2 deals with the character of organised crime groups in Australia,
as well as examining trends in their practices and methods.
1.11
Chapter 3 addresses the present and emerging trends in the activities of
organised crime groups.
1.12
Chapter 4 outlines broad strategies for countering these trends.
1.13
Chapter 5 endeavours to assess the cost of organised crime and its consequences,
including its effect on individuals, communities and society more generally.
1.14
Chapter 6 examines the legislative environment in which law enforcement
operates against organised crime, the adequacy of that environment and
strategies to improve it.
1.15
Chapter 7 scrutinises the administrative and regulatory arrangements
under which law enforcement and the ACC operate in dealing with organised
crime. It identifies several weaknesses and proposes a number of strategies to
address them.
1.16
Chapter 8 assesses the adequacy of the databases available to the ACC
and law enforcement agencies. The committee examines improvements which could
be made in the performance and accessibility of cross-jurisdictional databases.
1.17
The evidence given to the committee during its hearings on the nature
and extent of organised crime in Australia was in parts, alarming.
1.18
Given the sensitive nature of investigatory processes and the
confidentiality of much of the operational information of law enforcement
agencies, the committee has been able to look at the issues of the extent of
organised crime, its cost to the community and the adequacy or otherwise of the
current level of law enforcement in only general terms.
1.19
Nevertheless, the committee has highlighted some shortcomings in
national crime fighting capacities and has throughout the report identified a
number of areas where further scrutiny by the committee may be warranted.
Recommendations
1.20
The committee's report makes 22 recommendations arising from the
inquiry's findings.
1.21
Due to the broad nature of the inquiry, it was difficult to examine any
one area in great detail. Rather, this inquiry served to bring to the surface
several issues that are currently or may in the future pose a challenge to the
effectiveness of law enforcement agencies' efforts to address serious and
organised crime in Australia. The committee urges all governments in Australia
to give consideration to these findings.
Acknowledgments
1.22
The committee wishes to express its appreciation to all parties that
contributed to the conduct of this inquiry, whether by making a written
submission, by personal attendance at a hearing or, as in many cases, by making
both written and oral submissions.
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