Bikie gangs meet their match in cop with hi-tech plan

A bikie busting cop has come up with a way to stop Australia being swamped with violent street gangs who are targeting ex-military vets.

Bikies are recruiting ex-military veterans and new members from street and prison gangs – often using social media campaigns depicting “fast-money lifestyles”.

But the Outlaw Motor Cycle Gangs (OMCGs) may have finally met their match in Detective Senior Sergeant Kylee von Ohle, who is on a mission using the latest technology and Artificial Intelligence to beat them at their own game.

The 15-year police veteran has warned Australia is likely to be swept up in the rising globalisation of OMCGs and police need to be ready for it.

“It is only a matter of time before we see the expansion of Street Gangs in Australia and with that comes violence,” Det Sgt von Ohle said.

After a four-year study program, she wants a comprehensive police sting attack that watches, hears and tracks bikies and other gangs as they commit crimes, talk about those crimes or are on their way to commit one.

The Comanchero Motorcycle Club on their annual ride 2012.

The South Australian Police Det Sgt who was Investigations Supervisor at the Serious and Organised Crime Branch, said new technology can alert police within seconds of a gunshot, if a gang is assembling in public, or if members are communicating about a crime.

“No single initiative or investigation technique, law reform or preventive strategy will effectively combat OMCGs or gangs,” Det Sgt von Ohle said.

In a report undertaken with funding from a Donald Mackay Winston Churchill Trust Fellowship – Optimising Policing of Outlaw Motor Cycle Gangs through Innovative Investigation Techniques – Det Sgt von Ohle said the new OMCG gangs are overlapping with street gangs and prison gangs.

Flock Alert can read license plates and alert police if criminals are congregating. Picture: Supplied from Flock Safety

She said the threats start at the recruitment phase which is happening inside prison gangs and the use social media to advertise “fast-money lifestyles”.

The report found gangs are actively recruiting ex-military members because of their knowledge of military tactics and weapons training which poses a significant risk for police.

Gangs are also recruiting juveniles for their vulnerability and willingness to commit serious crimes and do short prison sentences. In the US the average age of a shooting offender is just 13 to 15 years old.

Kylee von Ohle who has written a report into innovative ways to investigate OMCGs with funding by the Donald Mackay Winston Churchill Trust.

Drill Rap, a rap genre where gang members brandish weapons and lyrics narrate their gang’s criminal activity are being used by street gangs as are “recruitment parties” where they charge an entry fee and sell gang merchandise known as “swag” to launder money.

Her report has uncovered alarming trends such as a rise in the use of Ghost guns – privately made with no serial numbers, the 3D printing of effective weapon and an increase in “glock switches” which turn a Glock handgun into a fully automatic firearm (switches can be 3D printed in 30 minutes and cost less than US$1 to make).

Her plan includes using computer aided analytic technology like the Versus system which is used in the US to listen into and glean intelligence from prison telephone communication. It can be programmed to recognise words and phrases.

“The technology makes millions of hours of prison phone calls instantly word searchable,” she said.

Kamille “Cupcake” McKinney - the three-year-old Alabama girl who was found dead in a dumpster after she was kidnapped from a birthday party. A AI technology helped find her body and led to two suspects. Picture supplied.

Versus can flag key words and was used in a famous case of Kamille “Cupcake McKinney”, a three year old abducted and murdered in Alabama in 2019. Witness accounts said a man had lured Cupcake into a car using candy, and so a word search of prison phone calls triggered an alert for 20 telephone calls in which candy was discussed and ultimately led to the discovery of her body and two suspects being charged.

The report also recommends using a social media program known as Night Hawk which analyses large amounts of social media data which maps and overlaps information and the Shot Spotter, a listening system using microphones hidden in high traffic or crime areas which are monitored 24/7 and detect gun shots. The sound is analysed and then the time and exact location is sent to police giving them details of a shooting crime within seconds.

It is also recommended to use Flock Alert a series of cameras which read number plates and recognise lists of plates together to warn if gang members are gathering or alert police if a suspect is out and about.

Det Sgt von Ohle also said police would benefit greatly from carrying instant gun residue kits to check if someone has been involved in a recent shooting, and mobile fingerprint scanners to confirm an offender or suspect’s identity.

How the ShotSpotter gunshot detection system works. Supplied ShotSpotter

More information sharing is needed between all agencies will help as well as the setting of dedicated OMG or gang prosecutors who understand nuances of gang culture and violence and the use gang expert evidence.

She has also recommended a centralised gang unit prioritising the fight against OMCG’s, dedicated training for stakeholders and a formal process for documenting and monitoring the membership of all gangs.