Identifying Outlaw Motorcycle (OMCG) Gang Symbols
A quick look at the resources available online to help investigators recognise and identify motorcycle gang symbols and the meanings behind them.
This article started as an in depth look into general hate symbols from varying groups around the world…. which ended up becoming a mammoth task that I just did not have the time to look into especially given the rapid development of new “hate symbols” created by trolls with no actual malice behind them except to trigger people from differing political leanings. Instead I decided to focus on a specific group/s in order to improve the quality of the content and reduce the amount of time it took to write (I’m lazy, sue me.) The group I ended up selecting was outlaw motorcycle gangs or as they are colloquially know as in Australia “Bikies”.
In a recent assessment conducted by the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (ACIC), there are currently 39 ‘one percent’ OMCGs operating in Australia, with more than 4,690 patched members and 970 prospects. These gangs are present in all Australian states and territories and represent a significant portion of organised crime within Australia. OMCGs have a strong hold over the illicit drug market and often resort to high impact violence, including the use of firearms. Although mainly active domestically, OMCGs have recently increased their international presence especially in the South East Asia region.
Resources
This website has a very good all round explanation of OMCGs, how they operate, what certain patches on their vests mean as well as a list of current and previous bikie gangs in New Zealand.
A look into the history of bikie gangs, their origins, court records, massacres and events.
This websites provides a long list of bikie terminology and explains what things like 1%er mean and how it came about.
A selection of images displaying Australian OMCG vests/patches
Moro images of logo and patches.
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