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Violence and Intimidation
Threat Issue
Violence and intimidation are key elements in the Canadian criminal marketplace. Unlike legitimate society, the organized criminal marketplace uses these as a means of contract enforcement and dispute resolution; that is not to say that there are no trusted arbiters or key individuals to whom groups and individuals turn to resolve a dispute. Such individuals do exist, but the legitimacy of their decisions is often based on their ability to enforce these through violent means or withholding of key services.
Violence and intimidation also remain key methods through which organized crime conducts its criminal activities. Violence is used by organized crime of all levels of sophistication and capability. Organized crime members and associates regularly use violence and intimidation in order to protect and promote the group’s criminal identity, interests, territory and activities.Violence and intimidation are also used to facilitate many other criminal activities such as illicit drug or gambling debt collection, extortion, home invasions and drug-related kidnappings. Threats and assaults are used to maintain internal order and loyalty to the criminal group while physical punishment is dispensed for infractions against the group or its leaders. Some criminal groups, particularly some street gangs, have violent initiation procedures that involve assaulting new and departing members.
Overview of Criminal Activity
All organized crime groups in Canada remain involved in violent activities of varying levels to protect their criminal activities and interests. More sophisticated criminal organizations also hire lower-level and/or subordinate criminal groups, such as street gangs, to undertake violent acts on their behalf.These street gangs participate in criminal activities such as illicit drug debt or gambling collection, and also act to insulate the more sophisticated groups from both its criminal rivals and law enforcement.
Members and associates of criminal groups often participate in varying illicit firearm activities and possess numerous firearms of various types, and are known to engage in criminal activities with the use of these weapons. Firearms, particularly semi-automatic handguns, are used by criminals for their protection, enhancement of their status and the commission of crimes including intimidation, assaults and homicides.
The problem of illicit firearms is particularly concentrated within urban centres that have a significant organized crime, including street gang, presence.
“I think that one of the most disturbing aspects of organized crime is that they will achieve their purpose without any regard for the lives and safety of the people around them.” Chief William Blair, Toronto Police Service |
Organized crime groups use different levels of violence depending on their desired goals. Organized crime has used premeditated acts of violence to intimidate law enforcement, officials of the judicial system and witnesses in attempts to thwart investigations and prosecutions. Organized crime also pre-emptively attacks criminal rivals to expand territory or try to establish a monopoly in a criminal activity.
In the recent Ontario Superior Court decision that found the HELLS ANGELS to be a criminal organization, the judge found that the two accused had worn their gang jackets and insignia to demonstrate their membership in the gang and intimidate their victim. |
Organized crime groups also use violence to instill fear in communities to discourage co-operation with police and prosecutors. Criminal groups like outlaw motorcycle gangs and some street gangs have also been known to intimidate communities or specific individuals by prominently displaying their gang-related paraphernalia. Competition between organized crime groups over territory or a particular illicit commodity can lead to intercrime group conflict that threatens public safety. Personal conflicts and animosities may also result in violence between groups.
Many street gangs across the country have a high propensity for and spontaneously use violence. Street gang members and associates frequently use violence, often with illegally acquired firearms, in response to criminal and non-criminal-related disagreements over perceived insults, territory, or as part of a retaliatory cycle of violence against a rival gang.The often intense rivalries between various street gangs in urban centres across the country occasionally erupts into violence. Street gangs undertake firearms-related violence, such as drive-by-shootings, or other shooting incidents in public places before numerous witnesses.This use of violence poses an immediate and direct safety threat to both the public and law enforcement. For example, in the last year, several rival criminal groups in Alberta have been involved in multiple homicides, some of which took place in crowded lounges and bars.
The illicit drug trade in Canada is the most prominent criminal market for organized crime groups. Consequently, individuals involved frequently participate in acts of violence to protect or expand their market share within the illicit drug industry.As well, there are spin-off criminal activities in which one criminal group specifically targets another’s market share. For example, some criminal groups deliberately target residential marihuana grow operations in violent home invasions in order to steal the mature plants. In response, those who cultivate large amounts of marihuana for criminal groups have been known to install dangerous booby traps to guard against theft. Some residences have contained trip wires which activate harmful substances or electrical currents.
“The Hells Angels are the most prominent organized crime threat in our community. They control much of the drug trade through violence and intimidation. The drugs they supply our youth destroy their future.” Chief Constable Jamie Graham, |
Violence often continues when organized crime members and associates are imprisoned. Incarcerated gang members and associates use assaults, intimidation, and to a much lesser extent, homicide, to discipline members/associates, to retaliate against rivals and to establish or maintain involvement in criminal activities, like drug trafficking, within correctional institutions.
Negative Socio-economic Effects
Organized crime’s use of violence affects individuals and communities across the country.As the use of violence by organized crime groups tends to focus on the illicit drug trade, innocent bystanders may be subject to increased costs associated to related property crimes, assaults and homicides committed by individuals seeking to support their addiction. Individuals in communities with a particularly visible organized crime presence may avoid certain businesses or institutions in affected areas, thus fostering a general sense of insecurity. Criminal activities like assaults, home invasions, break-and-enters and homicides, contribute to a culture of fear in some communities.
In 2005, there have been a number of incidents of gang violence in Calgary that have occurred in public places, putting innocent bystanders at risk. In one incident, individuals exchanged fire in a crowded bar, killing a man known to police and narrowly missing nearby patrons. In another case, a man was stabbed to death in a crowded nightclub. |
As many street gangs are highly violent in public areas, they pose an immediate threat to the general public. Street gangs’ criminality also directly affects the daily lives of individuals within affected communities. Community members may inadvertently interrupt a crime and be retaliated against as a result, or be targeted by the gang to ensure their silence and acquiescence. Gang recruitment and gang-related problems have escalated in many schools, endangering staff and students. As street gangs are expanding from urban areas into smaller communities, more communities across the country will be affected by their high levels of violence.
