Australian Capital Territory Numbered Acts

CRIMES (SERIOUS ORGANISED CRIME) AMENDMENT ACT 2010 (NO. 25 OF 2010) - SECT 9

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Chapter 6A     Participation in criminal groups

650     Meaning of criminal activity —ch 6A

In this chapter:

"criminal activity" means conduct that constitutes an indictable offence.

651     Meaning of criminal group —ch 6A

    (1)     In this chapter:

"criminal group" means a group of 3 or more people who have either or both of the following objectives:

        (a)     to obtain a material benefit from conduct engaged in in or outside the ACT (including outside Australia) that, if it occurred in the ACT, would constitute an indictable offence under a territory law;

        (b)     to commit serious violence offences (whether in or outside the ACT).

    (2)     A group of people can be a criminal group whether or not—

        (a)     any of them are subordinates or employees of others; or

        (b)     only some of the people involved in the group are involved in planning, organising or carrying out a particular activity; or

        (c)     its membership changes from time to time.

    (3)     In this section:

"serious violence offence—"an offence is a serious violence offence if—

        (a)     it is punishable by imprisonment for a term of 5 years or more; and

        (b)     the conduct constituting the offence involves any of the following:

              (i)     loss of a person's life or serious risk of loss of a person's life;

              (ii)     serious injury to a person or serious risk of serious injury to a person;

              (iii)     serious damage to property in circumstances endangering the safety of any person.

652     Participating in a criminal group

A person commits an offence if the person—

        (a)     participates in a criminal group; and

        (b)     knows that the group is a criminal group; and

        (c)     knows that, or was reckless about whether, the person's participation in the criminal group contributes to criminal activity.

Maximum penalty: imprisonment for 5 years.

653     Participating in a criminal group—causing harm

    (1)     A person commits an offence if the person—

        (a)     participates in, or intends to participate in, a criminal group; and

        (b)     in the course of participating in, or intending to participate in, the criminal group, engages in conduct that causes harm to someone else; and

        (c)     is reckless about causing harm to that person or another person by the conduct.

Maximum penalty: imprisonment for 10 years.

Note     The fault element of recklessness can be satisfied by proof of intention, knowledge or recklessness (see Criminal Code, s 20 (4)).

    (2)     A person commits an offence if the person—

        (a)     participates in, or intends to participate in, a criminal group; and

        (b)     in the course of participating in, or intending to participate in, the criminal group, intentionally makes to someone else a threat to cause harm to the other person or a third person; and

        (c)     intends the other person to fear that the threat will be carried out.

Maximum penalty: imprisonment for 10 years.

654     Participating in a criminal group—property damage

    (1)     A person commits an offence if the person—

        (a)     participates in, or intends to participate in, a criminal group; and

        (b)     in the course of participating in, or intending to participate in, the criminal group, engages in conduct that causes damage to property belonging to someone else; and

        (c)     is reckless about causing, damage to that property or any other property belonging to the other person.

Maximum penalty: imprisonment for 10 years.

    (2)     A person commits an offence if the person—

        (a)     participates in, or intends to participate in, a criminal group; and

        (b)     in the course of participating in, or intending to participate in, the criminal group, intentionally makes to someone else a threat to damage property belonging to the other person or a third person; and

        (c)     intends the other person to fear that the threat will be carried out.

Maximum penalty: imprisonment for 10 years.

    (3)     In the prosecution of an offence against subsection (2), it is not necessary to prove that the person threatened actually feared that the threat would be carried.

    (4)     In this section:

"causes" damage or another result—see section 400 (Definitions—pt 4.1).

"damage" property—see section 400 (Definitions—pt 4.1).

"property"—see section 400 (Definitions—pt 4.1).

"threat"—see section 402 (Meaning of threat for pt 4.1).

    (5)     Section 401 (Person to whom property belongs) applies for the purposes of this section.

655     Recruiting people to engage in criminal activity

    (1)     A person commits an offence if the person recruits someone else to carry out, or assist in carrying out, a criminal activity.

Maximum penalty: imprisonment for 7 years.

    (2)     A person commits an offence if the person recruits a child to carry out, or assist in carrying out, a criminal activity.

Maximum penalty: imprisonment for 10 years.

    (3)     In this section:

"recruit" means counsel, procure, solicit, incite or induce.