GUNS, BIKES & LEATHER. MORAL PANIC AND THE 2008 SOUTH AUSTRALIAN 'ANTI-BIKIE' LAWS. DAVID VAKALIS. Submitted for examination on 21 June ...
GUNS, BIKES & LEATHER MORAL PANIC AND THE 2008 SOUTH AUSTRALIAN ‘ANTI-BIKIE’ LAWS
DAVID VAKALIS
Submitted for examination on 21 June 2013 for Master of Arts
School of Political and Social Inquiry Department of Criminology
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TABLE OF CONTENTS ................................................................................................. ii
ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................... vii
STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY ................................................................................ ix
LIST OF FIGURES & TABLES .................................................................................... x
LIST OF ACRONYMS .................................................................................................. xii
ACKOWLEDGEMENTS.............................................................................................. xiv
INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................... 1 Background and Context........................................................................................... 1 From Biker to Bikie ................................................................................................ 1 From Bikie to ‘Terrorist’ ....................................................................................... 3 Moral Panic ................................................................................................................ 5 Cohen’s Moral Panic ............................................................................................. 6 Why Cohen’s Moral Panic? ................................................................................... 8 The Project.................................................................................................................. 8 Method .................................................................................................................. ..9 Thesis Structure .................................................................................................... 10
CHAPTER 1: PERSPECTIVES ON MORAL PANIC ............................................ 13 ii
1.0
Introduction .................................................................................................. 13
1.1
Broad Understandings ................................................................................. 14
1.1.1 Differing Models.......................................................................................... 14 1.1.2 Grassroots, Interest Group and Elite-Engineered Moral Panics .............. 15 1.2
Key Debates Around Moral Panic ................................................................. 16
1.2.1 The Moral in Moral Panic .......................................................................... 17 1.2.2 The Panic in Moral Panic ........................................................................... 18 1.2.3 Social Concern Versus Media Concern ..................................................... 20 1.2.4 Confirmatory Moral Panic Research ......................................................... 21 1.2.5 Simplification of Moral Panic .................................................................... 22 1.3
Cohen’s Moral Panic Model .......................................................................... 23
1.3.1 Overview of Cohen’s Moral Panic .............................................................. 23 1.2.2 Number of Stages in Cohen’s Moral Panic ............................................... 24 1.2.3 Conceptual Clarification of Cohen’s Moral Panic .................................... 27 1.4
Pre-Existing Research .................................................................................... 27
1.5
Conclusion ....................................................................................................... 29
CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY .............................................................................. 30 2.0
Introduction .................................................................................................... 30
2.1
Content and Discourse Analysis .................................................................... 30
2.2
The Corpus ...................................................................................................... 33
2.2.1 The Newspaper Corpus ............................................................................... 33 2.2.2 The Remaining Corpus ............................................................................... 38 2.3
Method of Each Chapter ................................................................................ 39
2.3.1 Chapter 3...................................................................................................... 39 2.3.2 Chapter 4...................................................................................................... 40 2.3.3 Chapter 5...................................................................................................... 42 2.4
Ethical Considerations ................................................................................... 42
2.5
Conclusion ....................................................................................................... 43
iii
CHAPTER 3: RE-ENTER THE BIKIE FOLK DEVIL ........................................... 44 3.0
Introduction .................................................................................................... 44
3.1
The ‘Bikie Problem’ ....................................................................................... 45
3.1.1 What’s ‘Wrong’ with Bikies? ...................................................................... 45 3.1.2 Social Concern over the Bikie ‘Threat’ ...................................................... 47 3.1.3 Anti-Bikie Hostility ...................................................................................... 48 3.1.4 A United Front............................................................................................. 52 3.1.5 A Disproportionate Reaction?..................................................................... 54 3.2
The Tonic Episode .......................................................................................... 58
3.2.1 A Police-Based Narrative of the Tonic Incident ........................................ 58 3.2.2 Social Concern Following the Tonic Episode ............................................ 59 3.3
The Inventory .................................................................................................. 60
3.3.1 Exaggeration and Distortion....................................................................... 60 3.3.1.1 Issues in the Public Accounts of the Tonic Episode......................... 62 3.3.1.2 Volume of Reporting ........................................................................ 63 3.3.1.3 In-text Exaggeration and Distortion ................................................ 69 3.3.2 Prediction ..................................................................................................... 71 3.3.3 Symbolisation............................................................................................... 72 3.3.3.1 Bikies: I ............................................................................................ 73 3.3.3.2 Gangs: I ........................................................................................... 74 3.3.3.3 Outlaws ............................................................................................ 77 3.3.3.4 Criminals ......................................................................................... 77 3.4
Conclusion ....................................................................................................... 78
CHAPTER 4: OPINION & ATTITUDE THEMES.................................................. 81 4.0
Introduction .................................................................................................... 81
4.1
Moral Entrepreneurs’ Understandings of Bikies and the ‘Bikie Problem'............................................................................................... 82
4.1.1 Orientations ................................................................................................. 83 4.1.1.1 Prediction......................................................................................... 84 4.1.1.2 War................................................................................................... 85 iv
4.1.2 Images .......................................................................................................... 86 4.1.2.1 Bikies: II ........................................................................................... 87 4.1.2.2 Gangs: II .......................................................................................... 89 4.2
Socially Accredited Experts’ Diagnosis and Proposed Solutions to the ‘Bikie Problem’ ............................................................................................... 89
4.2.1 ‘Causations’ ................................................................................................. 90 4.2.1.1 Ineffective Laws and/or Regulations................................................ 90 4.2.1.2 Bikie Culture .................................................................................... 91 4.1.3.3 The Government ............................................................................... 92 4.2.2 ‘Solutions’ .................................................................................................... 93 4.2.2.1 Law Reform to Criminalise Bikies ................................................... 93 4.2.2.2 Law Reform to Stamp Bikies Out of Businesses .............................. 94 4.3
Voices Against the Grain ............................................................................... 95
4.3.1 Pallaras ........................................................................................................ 96 4.3.2 Veno ............................................................................................................. 96 4.3.3 Kanck ........................................................................................................... 97 4.4
Conclusion ....................................................................................................... 97
CHAPTER 5: THE SOCIAL CONTROL CULTURE ........................................... 101 5.0
Introduction .................................................................................................. 101
5.1
The Police ...................................................................................................... 102
5.1.1 Police Taskforces ....................................................................................... 102 5.1.2 Shadowing Club Runs ............................................................................... 103 5.1.3 Dob in a ‘Thug’ ......................................................................................... 103 5.1.4 Dramatic Raids .......................................................................................... 104 5.1.5 New Powers................................................................................................ 104 5.1.6 Other Measures ......................................................................................... 105 5.2
The Judiciary ................................................................................................ 105
5.2.1 ‘Unfit and Improper’ Persons ................................................................... 105 5.2.2 Jokers’ Day in Court ................................................................................. 106 5.3
The Legislature ............................................................................................. 106 v
5.3.1 Codifying Public Disorder Offences ......................................................... 107 5.3.2 Criminalising Social Interaction .............................................................. 108 5.3.3 Bar and Casino Prohibition Orders .......................................................... 109 5.3.4 Gun Law Reform ....................................................................................... 110 5.4
Diffusion, Escalation and Innovation.......................................................... 111
5.4.1 Diffusion .................................................................................................... 111 5.4.2 Escalation .................................................................................................. 112 5.4.3 Innovation .................................................................................................. 113 5.5
Blowback ....................................................................................................... 113
5.6
Conclusion ..................................................................................................... 114
CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................... 116 Synthesis .................................................................................................................. 116 Reasons and Explanations for the Conclusion .................................................... 121 Why the Tonic Incident Did Not Result in Moral Panic .................................. 121 Limitations of Moral Panic Research................................................................ 124 Final Remarks ........................................................................................................ 126
LIST OF REFERENCES ............................................................................................ 128
vi
ABSTRACT
Reflective of the broad political consensus in Australia, ‘anti-bikie’ laws have recently been introduced by many state and territory governments. In the shadow of this year’s federal election, the government has also proposed national anti-bikie laws. Given this, it is worthwhile to consider the context within which this trend emerged.
Three days after a violent incident involving bikies outside Adelaide’s Tonic nightclub on 2 June 2007, the South Australian (SA) Government announced that it was considering the use of ‘anti-terrorism’ laws as part of its ‘war on bikies’. Then Premier Mike Rann declared: ‘[i]f these people want to behave like terrorists, they will be treated like terrorists’. What resulted was the controversial Serious and Organised Crime (Control) Act 2008 (SA) (the SOCC Act) – featuring similar provisions to Australia’s federal anti-terrorism laws. This thesis investigates the relevance of the concept of ‘moral panic’ – as set out in Stan Cohen’s seminal text Folk Devils and Moral Panics: The Creation of the Mods and Rockers – in explaining the SA Parliament’s passing of the SOCC Bill.
The latest edition of Cohen’s seminal work on moral panic (published in 2002) is used as an analytical tool to consider whether the SOCC Act resulted from a moral panic. In it, he clarifies his idea of moral panic by suggesting that researchers pay attention to the specific elements of moral panic identified by Erich Goode and Nachman Ben-Yehuda: concern, hostility, consensus, disproportionality and volatility. Similar to the work of Cohen, this thesis seeks to identify the typical traits of moral panic through a content and discourse analysis of newspaper texts. In this data set, items including cartoons, letters to the editor, editorials, and news reports relating to bikies were collected from two Adelaide newspapers, The Advertiser and Sunday Mail. The SA Attorney-General at the time, Michael Atkinson, cited the Tonic incident as justification for the SOCC vii
Bill’s introduction. Based on this, the newspaper corpus is collected from the day following the Tonic incident (3 June 2007) to the day that the SOCC Bill received Royal Assent (15 May 2008).
The thesis argues that, while bikies were constructed as folk devils, Cohen’s moral panic provides limited assistance in accounting for the enactment of the SOCC Act. While this finding is contrary to the hypothesis initially proposed by the researcher, the evidence suggests that the social reaction to the Tonic incident did not amount to a moral panic, and thus that the SOCC Act was not the result of one.
This research makes a number of valuable contributions, both academically and practically. There are rafts of research that utilise Cohen’s moral panic concept; however, this study is one of only a few that uses his latest iteration. This thesis offers s a unique perspective that furthers our understanding of moral panic. This is achieved not through defining what moral panic is, but rather what it is not. This is rare, as most moral panic researchers mobilise the theory to demonstrate that a case is an instance of moral panic. In the spirit of social justice that inspired Cohen’s moral panic research, this thesis also offers insights as to how an oppressive instrument like the SOCC Act became legitimised, and how similar legislation might be resisted.
viii
STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY
This thesis, except with the Graduate Research Committee’s approval, contains no material that has been accepted for the award of any other degree or diploma in any university or other institution. I affirm that to the best of my knowledge this thesis contains no material previously published or written by another person, except where due reference is made in the text of this thesis.
David Vakalis 21 June 2013
ix
LIST OF FIGURES & TABLES
Figure 1: Cohen's moral panic model (adapted from Cohen 2002, p. 1). ....................... 25 Figure 2: Cohen's disaster sequence (adapted from Cohen 2002, pp. 12-3)................... 26 Figure 3: Monthly distribution of bikie-related newspaper texts published in The Advertiser and Sunday Mail during the research period (3 June 2007 - 15 May 2008). ...................................................................................................................... 34 Figure 4: Comparative estimations for the rate of textual newspaper items containing the word 'bikie' published in The Advertiser and Sunday Mail from 16 January 1998 to 15 May 2008 according to results populated by Factiva and NewsBank. . 37 Figure 5: Daily distribution of bikie-related newspaper texts two weeks following the Tonic incident. ........................................................................................................ 41 Figure 6: Rate of bikie-related newspaper texts published by the Sunday Mail and The Advertiser between 16 January 1998 and 2012 using results populated by NewsBank. .............................................................................................................. 49 Figure 7: Estimated proportion (%) of bikie-related texts published by The Advertiser and Sunday Mail between 18 January 1998 and 2012 using results populated by NewsBank. .............................................................................................................. 50 Figure 8: Monthly distribution of bikie-related newspaper texts published in The Advertiser and Sunday Mail during the research period (3 June 2007 - 15 May 2008). ...................................................................................................................... 61 Figure 9: The rate with which particular bikie stereotypes appeared in Tonic-related newspaper texts published in The Advertiser and Sunday Mail during the initial reaction period (3 - 8 June 2007). ........................................................................... 73
x
Figure 10: Number of bikie-related newspaper texts published in The Advertiser and Sunday Mail exhibiting moral entrepreneurs' orientation subthemes during the research period (3 June 2007 - 15 May 2008). ....................................................... 84 Figure 11: Number of bikie-related newspaper texts published in The Advertiser and Sunday Mail exhibiting moral entrepreneurs' image subthemes published during the research period (3 June 2007 - 15 May 2008) I. ............................................... 87 Figure 12: Number of bikie-related newspaper texts in The Advertiser and Sunday Mail exhibiting moral entrepreneurs' image subthemes published during the research period (3 June 2007 - 15 May 2008) II. .................................................................. 88 Figure 13: Number of bikie-related newspaper texts in The Advertiser and Sunday Mail exhibiting socially accredited experts' causation subthemes published during the research period (3 June 2007 - 15 May 2008). ....................................................... 91 Figure 14: Number of bikie-related newspaper texts published in The Advertiser and Sunday Mail exhibiting socially accredited experts' solution subthemes published during the research period (3 June 2007 - 15 May 2008). ...................................... 94
Table 1: Monthly distribution of bikie-related newspaper texts published in The Advertiser and Sunday Mail during the research period (3 June 2007 - 15 May 2008). ...................................................................................................................... 35 Table 2: Proportion of bikie-related and Tonic-related newspaper editions and newspaper texts published in The Advertiser and Sunday Mail during the research period (3 June 2007 - 15 May 2008) and the initial reaction period (3 - 8 June 2007). ...................................................................................................................... 64 Table 3: Proportion of bikie-related and Tonic-related newspaper texts to all newspaper texts published in The Advertiser and Sunday Mail during the research period (3 June 2007 - 15 May 2008) and the initial reaction period (3 - 8 June 2007). ......... 66
xi
LIST OF ACRONYMS
ABC
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
ACC
Australian Crime Commission
AMA
American Motorcycle Association
CGTF
Crime Gang Taskforce
Cwlth
Commonwealth of Australia
DPP
Department of Public Prosecutions
HCA
High Court of Australia
MC
Motorcycle Club
MCIS
Major Crime Investigation Section, of South Australia Police
NSW
New South Wales
NT
Northern Territory
QLD
Queensland
SA
South Australia
SALC
South Australia Licensing Court
SAPol
South Australia Police
SOCC Act
Serious and Organised Crime (Control) Act 2008 (South Australia)
SOCC Bill
Serious and Organised Crime (Control) Bill 2007 (South Australia)
STAR Group
Special Tasks and Rescue Group
UMC
United Motorcycle Council
Vic
Victoria xii
WA
Western Australia
WWI
World War One
WWII
World War Two
xiii
ACKOWLEDGEMENTS
There are always a number of people that contribute directly and indirectly to the production of large research projects. This Masters thesis is no exception, so I would like to give my thanks to those who have played a role, no matter how large or small. First and foremost, I give my indebted gratitude to my supervisors, Prof. Jude McCulloch and Dr. Bree Carlton for their feedback, wisdom, tolerance, resources and offering me numerous opportunities. Second, I would like to acknowledge the support that has been provided by a number of people, particularly from Sue Stevenson (Monash University), Rhonda Jankovic (vale Rhonda), Alistair Weddell, ‘Nazza’, Scott Jordan, Dim Vakalis, Polyxeni Vakalis, the late Christos Vakalis, and current and former friends and partners. Further, a number of academics and researchers who shared their ideas with me, suggested resources, and the like, are deserving of thanks too: Dr. Dave Whyte (University of Liverpool), Dr. Arthur Veno (Victoria University), Dr. Julie van den Eynde (Victoria University), Assoc. Prof. Michael Head (University of Western Sydney), Prof. Rick Sarre (University of South Australia), Prof. Paul Wilson (Bond University), Julie Ayling (Centre of Excellence in Policing and Security), Dr. James Roffee (Monash University), Prof. Yvonne Jewkes (University of Leicester), Dr. John Buttle (Auckland University of Technology), Christina Kirtley (Monash University), and Kim Workman (Rethinking Crime and Punishment). Thanks also goes to the staff at the Victorian and South Australian State Libraries; the Monash University Library, particularly Dr. Janice Pinder for running the Matheson Library’s writing group; Monash University’s Graduate Researchers in Print’s thesis writing workshop, especially Dr. Kate Cregan; and Monash University’s Department of Criminology for providing me with considerable funds and opportunities to do more than merely produce this thesis. Last, but not least, I would like to thank Julia Farrell for her editorial assistance.
xiv
INTRODUCTION
Background and Context From Biker to Bikie Part fact, part folklore and part urban myth, the reckless, free-spirited, hedonistic, badboy image that accompanies motorcyclists seems to have been around for almost as long as the vehicle itself. The extent to which the mythology matches reality matters little to some ‘citizens’1 as what is important are the emotions and stories that are invoked. In some regards this has been the fault of bikies,2 and also of more influential actors like the media, police and politicians. Nonetheless, the bikie trope that is in the public’s psyche is one that has been influenced by a number of significant bikie events in history. One such event was the so-called Hollister Riot during 1947 in California, in the United States (US), which the 1953 cult film classic The Wild One, starring Marlo Brando, was loosely based on. This is said to have been the first flashpoint that dichotomised bikers and gave bikies their first demonised image. Another was the alleged gang rape by Hells Angels members of two underage females in 1964 in Monterey, also in the US, which added to their negative image, despite the rape charges being dropped (Veno & Gannon 2009, pp. 3-4). The stabbing of an African-American youth, Meredith Hunter, by a Hells Angels member who was working alongside other members in providing private security at a Rolling Stones concert in 1969 in California was also a significant incident (Dulaney 2007, pp. 130-2). A fight between Hells Angels
1
‘Citizen’ is the term used by bikies to refer to individuals who are not members of what is popularly
known as ‘outlaw motorcycle clubs’, or bikie clubs (Veno & Gannon 2009, p. 257). 2
The term ‘bikies’ refers to what is also known as ‘outlaw motorcycle gangs’, ‘outlaw motorcycle clubs’,
‘1%ers’, and similar. This thesis uses the term bikie as it refers to the deviant subculture of bikers in a more neutral way. Further discussion of the bikie image is discussed later in subsections 3.3.3.1 and 4.1.2.1.
1
members and anti–Vietnam War protesters at the University of California in Berkeley in 1965 further added to the notoriety of bikies (Veno & Gannon 2009, pp. 4-5). The socalled Nordic War in Australia in the 1990s played a role also, during which the Hells Angels and Bandidos motorcycle clubs (MCs) battled over control for the illicit drug market, which saw many injured and killed (Coulthart & McNab 2011, Chapter 17). The ‘Quebec Bikie War’ (Canada) during the early 2000s, which started with the Hells Angels trying to monopolise the local drug market, like the Nordic War, resulted in many injuries and deaths (Coulthart & McNab 2011, pp. 241-348) and has also had a significant impact on the negative public image of bikies.
Although these international events, particularly those in the US, played a role in reconstructing some bikers as bikies, a number of Australian flashpoints have made people realise that the ‘problem’ was not only abroad, but also at home. The first of these events that generated concern was a bikie shootout in 1974 at Port Gawler, South Australia (SA) (Veno & Gannon 2009, pp. 142-3). Another was the ‘Bathurst Riots’ between bikers and police officers at a motorcycle race during the early to mid-1980s in New South Wales (NSW), which, while was not specifically bikie-related, contributed to the negative image of all bikers (Cunneen et al. 1989). The fatal shootout between members of the Comancheros and Bandidos MCs, known as the ‘Milperra Massacre’ or ‘Fathers Day Massacre’, in NSW in 1984 was another. This event continues to live in infamy through the recently broadcasted Bikie Wars: Brothers in Arms (2012) television series, which was based on the book Brothers in Arms: The Inside Story of Two Bikie Gangs (Simpson & Harvey 2001). Additionally, the ‘bikie war’ in Western Australia (WA) during the 1990s, which escalated when a bikie broke his club’s code of silence and swapped clubs (Veno & Gannon 2009, Chapter 11), and the 1999 Hells Angels fatal ambush of Rebels members on Wright Street, Adelaide (Shand 2011, p. 44), were other Australian low points for bikies.
As a result of the social reaction to these events, an almost wholly negative folklore of bikies has gained popular resonance, such that bikies began to be seen more as criminal ‘gangs’ than MCs. However, in addition to the list of historic flashpoints, there is another, which is the subject of inquiry within this thesis: the Tonic incident. 2
From Bikie to ‘Terrorist’ During the early hours of Saturday 2 June 2007, in the SA capitol of Adelaide, two to four unknown people attacked four associates and/or members of the Rebels MC outside the (then) Tonic nightclub, situated in the clubbing district, Light Square. One of those injured was the SA President of the Rebels, Christopher Paul Clemente, who received a number of gunshot wounds (James 2008g). On the day following the incident, the Sunday Mail dedicated its front page to bikie stories (see, for example, Hunt 2007a; ‘Saturday 4.30am outside a city nightclub. two gunmen, 10 shots, four bikies wounded – but to one of them and his mates it’s all a bit of a laugh’ 2007), half of which related to the Tonic shooting (‘Saturday 4.30am outside a city nightclub’ 2007). The newspaper included another notable story inside titled ‘Bikie Ambush: Ten Shots, 4 Hurt in City’s Wild West’ (Kyriacou et al. 2007a). Some people in SA may have easily dismissed the Tonic event as merely ‘one of many’ similar events, but it truly was a watershed moment – not because of anything inherently significant in the event itself, but rather due to the subsequent disproportionate reaction to it, particularly from the state Labor government of the time, led by Premier Mike Rann.
The week following the incident saw a number of newspaper texts relating to the Tonic incident, and to the ‘bikie problem’ more broadly, published in the state’s daily newspapers, The Advertiser and Sunday Mail. Three days after the incident, Rann stated in the SA Parliament that he had asked his Attorney-General, Michael Atkinson, and Minister of Police, Paul Holloway, to investigate whether any part of the state’s ‘antiterrorism’ laws – an area of law that had actually been referred to the Parliament of the Commonwealth
pursuant
to
the
Australian
Constitution
(see,
Terrorism
(Commonwealth Powers) Act 2002 [SA]) along with other states – could be adopted or modified for use against bikies (Rann, cited in Parliament of SA 2007a, p. 300). Rann declared: ‘If these people want to behave like terrorists, they will be treated like terrorists’ (cited in Parliament of SA 2007a, p. 300). Almost six months after the incident, on 21 November 2007, Atkinson introduced the Serious and Organised Crime (Control) Bill (2007) (SOCC Bill) to the SA Parliament, citing the Tonic incident, and the 1999 Wright Street shootings (another bikie-related incident), as justification for the 3
SOCC Bill (Atkinson, cited in Parliament of SA 2007b, p. 1805). While the Bill was described as merely a modernised version of anti-consorting laws (Atkinson, cited in Parliament of SA 2007b, p. 1805), it incorporated some of the most dubious aspects of the federal anti-terrorism laws, particularly its administrative and civil law powers to ban organisations through declaration, and restrict the actions of people by placing control orders on them (McGarrity & Williams 2010, p. 136; Anti-Terrorism Act (No. 2) 2005 [Cwlth]). While the SOCC Bill (2007) was justified as being ‘anti-bikie’, the Serious and Organised Crime (Control) Act (2008) (SOCC Act) is best understood as being anti-association because its grasp extends beyond bikies to cover other people too. The Bill was passed and given Royal Assent on 15 May 2008. While this law was not the first anti-bikie law in SA, or even in Australia (Bartels 2010),3 it was the first of its type: that is, ‘bikie control order laws’, as Nicola McGarrity refers to them (McGarrity 2012, p. 166).
Since the introduction of the SOCC Act, other Australian jurisdictions have followed suit in implementing similar controversial laws,4 despite the fact that they were initially criticised as ‘draconian’ by other jurisdictions (Henderson 2008b). Even the federal government has recently regained interest in creating national ‘anti-gang’ laws (Swan 2013). However, the criticisms of similar laws are well founded. Anti-bikie laws have been described as more anti-association in nature, than anti-bikie (Vakalis 3
For example, see Statutes Amendment (Anti-Fortification) Act 2003 (SA); Statutes Amendment (Liquor,
Gambling and Security Industries) Act 2005 (SA); Crimes Legislation Amendment (Gangs) Act 2006 (NSW); Corruption and Crime Commission Act 2003 (WA); Criminal Proceeds Confiscation Act 2002 (QLD); Police Powers and Responsibilities Act 2000 (QLD); Crimes (Assumed Identities) Act 2004 (Vic); Crimes (Controlled Operations) Act 2004 (Vic); Evidence (Witness Identity Protection) Act 2004 (Vic); Major Crimes (Investigative Powers) Act 2004 (Vic); Surveillance Devices (Amendment) Act 2004 (Vic); Police Offences Amendment Act 2007 (Tas); Justice Legislation (Group Criminal Activities) Act 2006 (NT) (Bartels 2010). 4
For instance, NSW introduced the Crimes (Criminal Organisations Control) Act 2009, following a fatal
bikie-related fight at Sydney Airport (Ayling 2011, p. 254; Morgan et al. 2010, p. 585); the Northern Territory enacted the Serious Crime Control Act 2009 (Ayling 2011, p. 254; McGarrity 2012, p. 166); Queensland enacted the Criminal Organisation Act 2009 (Ayling 2011, p. 254; McGarrity 2012, p. 166); Western Australia enacted the Criminal Organisations Control Act 2012; and Victoria enacted the Criminal Organisations Control Act 2012.
4
2012); as an example of the normalisation of exceptional measures (McGarrity & Williams 2010; Appleby & Williams 2010; McGarrity 2012); and as an institutional legacy of the increasing paramilitarisation of Australia since the 1980s, particularly since ‘9/11’ (Morgan et al. 2010). The laws have also been subject to a number of (relatively unsuccessful) constitutional appeals in the High Court of Australia (HCA) (see, South Australia v Totani 2010; Wainohu v New South Wales [2011] HCA 39; Assistant Commissioner Michael James Condon v Pompano Pty Ltd [2013] HCA 7), and have received considerable criticism in the wake of the case of Charlie Foster, an intellectually disabled youth, who was the first person to be imprisoned under the anticonsorting laws NSW enacted in 2012 to police bikies (Rubinsztein-Dunlop 2012). Despite these challenges, the laws continue to be perpetuated and remain largely intact. With this continuation of social control that bikies and others (under the façade of tackling bikies) have been subjected to, some have sought to make sense of this through the deployment of the sociological concept of moral panic (for example, Shand 2011; Veno & Gannon 2009; Veno & van den Eynde 2007; Barker 2007; Morgan et al. 2010). This thesis does so too.
Moral Panic The sociological concept of moral panic was popularised by Stan Cohen in his seminal 1972 text Folk devils and moral panics: the creation of the mods and rocker, based on his 1969 PhD thesis Hooligans, vandals and the community: studies of the social reaction to juvenile delinquency (Cohen 2002, p. 177). Whilst Cohen’s text is famously attributed for the concept, to a lesser extent, so is Jock Young who used it in a paper he presented at the first meeting of the National Deviance Conference in 1968, which was later published in 1971 (Young 2009, p. 5; see, Young 1971). Some have argued that it was Young who came up with the concept originally (see, Goode and Ben-Yehuda 1994, p. 12; Jones 1997, p. 6), however, it has also been said that the basic idea of moral panic has been around for over 183 years (see, Sutton 2012). As Cohen notes in the Introduction to the third edition of his seminal text (2002, p. xxxv), both he and Young probably got the idea of moral panic from its use in Marshall McLuhan’s Understanding media: the extensions of man (1964). Although it is debatable whether Young even knew of moral panic’s feature in McLuhan’s work (Sutton 2012, p. 2). 5
Despite the complex debate over who came up with the concept, moral panic as it is popularly understood today, became an intersection for various schools of thought (McNally 2008, p. 44), reflecting its intellectual context in the social, political and cultural changes arising from the 1960s (Young 2009). ‘The sanity of psychiatry, the honesty of the police, the veracity of the mass media, the respectability of the politician, the comfortable world of the middle classes were all relentlessly questioned’ during this time (Young 2009, pp. 7-8). With this backdrop, researchers in the sociology of deviance and social control, like Cohen, had ‘a desire to counter functionalism’s ‘antideviant’ value-leadenness, its tendency to psychologisation and its positivist methodologies’ (Jones 1997, p. 6). In addition, according to Young, there was considerable displeasure expressed over sociology’s role in legitimising the power relations and social control exerted by authorities over unpopular populations (2009, p. 7; for example, see, Becker 1967). Ideas like that of moral panic were a direct challenge to the dominating intellectual landscape of the Chicago School, with it embracing the work of other ‘misfits’. The functionalist, subcultural, labeling, constructionist, social interactionists, and symbolic interactions schools of thought as embodied in research by the likes of Durkheim (see, 1938), Becker (see, 1966; 1967), Cohen (see, 1965), Goffman (see, 1961; 1963), Smelster (see, 1962), Wilkins (see, 1964), Gusfield (see, 1963) and Lemert (see, 1951) intersect within the concept of moral panic (Jones 1997; Young 2009). This will become evident through the following pages of this thesis.
Cohen’s Moral Panic As mentioned earlier, the concept of moral panic was popularlised by Stan Cohen in his seminal 1971 text Folk devils and moral panic: the creation of the mods and rockers. In his book, Cohen (2002) argued that the social reaction to the mods and rockers phenomenon in Britain during the 1960s took the form of a moral panic (Cohen 2002). Over the years, part of a passage that has been used as the ‘definition’ of his conceptualisation has been widely cited:
6
Societies appear to be subject, every now and then, to periods of moral panic. [Emergence stage:] A condition, episode, person or group of persons emerges to become defined as a threat to societal values and interest; [media inventory stage:] its nature is presented in a stylized and stereotypical fashion by the mass media; [‘moral entrepreneur’ (Cohen 2002) stage:] the moral barricades are manned by editors, bishops, politicians and other right-thinking people; [expert stage:] socially accredited experts pronounce their diagnoses and solutions; [coping and resolution stage:] ways of coping are evolved or (more often) resorted to; [fade away stage:] the condition then disappears, submerges or deteriorates and becomes more visible. [Legacy stage:] Sometimes the panic passes over and is forgotten, except in folklore and collective memory; at other times it has more serious and long-lasting repercussions and might produce such changes as those in legal and social policy or even in the way society conceives itself. (Cohen 2002, p. 1)
While moral panic researchers have tended to focus on the above quoted passage to inform their work, the conceptual clarification contained in the third edition of the text has gone largely ignored. In that edition, Cohen engaged with the key debates that have arisen over the years, and most notably praises the later work of Erich Goode and Nachman Ben-Yehuda (1994) for clearly articulating the characteristics he tried to convey in his moral panic research (Cohen 2002, p. xxii).5 Cohen paraphrased these characteristics as:
(i) Concern (rather than fear) about the potential or imagined threat; (ii) Hostility – moral outrage towards the actors (folk devils) who embody the problem and agencies (naïve social workers, spin doctored politicians) who are ‘ultimately’ responsible (and may become folk devils themselves); (iii) Consensus – a widespread agreement (not necessarily total) that the threat exists, is serious and that ‘something should be done’. The majority of elite and influential groups, especially the mass media, should share this consensus. (iv) Disproportionality: an exaggeration of the number or strength of the cases, in terms of the damage caused, moral offensiveness, [and] potential risk if 5
It is worth noting that while at the time of writing there are two editions of Goode and Ben-Yehuda’s
text Moral panics: the social construction of deviance (1994/2009), this thesis relies on the first of the two editions. The reason for this is contextual: Cohen’s 2002 edition praised Goode and Ben-Yehuda’s 1994 edition and was published before their 2009 edition.
7
ignored. Public concern is not directly proportionate to objective harm. (v) Volatility – the panic erupts and dissipates suddenly and without warning. (Cohen 2002, p. xxii)
In light of Cohen’s comments, this thesis incorporates both his popularised and clarified definitions to investigate the reaction to the Tonic incident. Because the clarified version has been largely neglected, this thesis joins a handful of projects that incorporates the third edition’s clarification (see, for example, Morgan et al. 2010; McNally 2008; Collins 2012).
Why Cohen’s Moral Panic? Given that the conclusion of this thesis is relatively unorthodox, one may wonder why Cohen’s conceptualisation of moral panic (2002) was adopted in this research. There are three reasons for this. First, the initial hypothesis was that the social reaction to the Tonic incident and the enactment of the SOCC Act were examples of moral panic. This was held to be the case throughout most of the time this thesis was being produced. So in some regards, it has carried over from that period. The second reason is that Cohen’s text states that the moral panic concept may be applicable to analysis of deviant juvenile populations other than the mods and rockers (2002, p. 1). For instance, what was at the time when Cohen was researching; the ‘youth [sub]culture … [of] the Hells Angels’ (Cohen 2002, p. 1). Because he referred to the Hells Angels, it was initially thought that the concept of moral panic might be applied to similar MCs; however, this proved not to be the case. The third reason is that, while his suggestion did not apply to this research, the study’s conclusions would form an interesting contrast, particularly given that most moral panic research is confirmatory, so that the present research may further enhance understanding of moral panic by identifying circumstances where it is not prevalent.
The Project Given the controversial nature of the anti-bikie laws and their expansion, there is a need to turn back the clock and analyse how it all began: specifically, to consider the Tonic incident and the enactment of the SOCC Act. This thesis explores the event that led to 8
the passing of the anti-bikie laws, particularly the social reaction to the Tonic incident, which ultimately was the apparent flashpoint for the law’s introduction, along with a host of other control measures. The thesis is therefore situated broadly within the preexisting literature on the anti-bikie laws and bikies, while also being rooted in the body of research that draws on the concept of ‘moral panic’ (Cohen 2002). The primary research question of this thesis is: to what degree does the third edition of Stan Cohen’s conceptualisation of moral panic (2002) explain the social reaction to the Tonic incident and the subsequent passing of the 2008 SOCC Act? Alongside this question, this research also asks three subsidiary questions, which correspond to each of the three analysis chapters that make up this thesis: 1. Has the ‘threat’ posed by the ‘bikie problem’, and the incident at Tonic, been exaggerated, sensationalised or distorted, particularly by the media? (See Chapter 3) 2. How did moral entrepreneurs make sense of the Tonic incident and the ‘bikie problem’ during the research period? (See Chapter 4) 3. How did society, particularly the police, judiciary and legislature, respond to the Tonic incident and the ‘bikie problem’ during the research period? (See Chapter 5) In conducting a content and discourse analysis of texts predominantly drawn from newspapers, it is concluded that Cohen’s concept (2002) is only somewhat helpful, as the reaction to the Tonic incident and the enactment of the SOCC Act were not demonstrations of moral panic (Cohen 2002). This is a unique conclusion to be made for moral panic research, as scholarship in this area is overwhelmingly confirmatory of the concept (for an exception, see Collins 2012).
Method As mentioned earlier, this research explores the degree to which Cohen’s moral panic concept explains the social reaction to the Tonic incident and the enactment of the SOCC Act, while also addressing the three subsidiary research questions. It answers these questions by using the quantitative and qualitative methods of content and discourse analysis, similar to the method used by Cohen (2002), in order to interrogate 9
particular texts. In short, content analysis involves creating analytical categories for the construction of a coding frame, which can include words, phrases, concept lists and themes (Hardy et al. 2004). The coding frame is then used to analyse text (Hardy et al. 2004). In contrast, discourse analysis examines the structure and functions of text within their social, political and cultural contexts to investigate how the text relates to broader institutional arrangements (van Dijk 1996, p. 10). The texts to be analysed are primary and secondary documentary sources. The primary sources include government and media press releases, Hansard records, court judgements, government literature, law enforcement literature and newspaper texts. The newspaper texts form the majority of the sources cited in this thesis, as Cohen found such sources to be the most indicative when studying social reaction (Cohen 2002). The newspaper corpus includes cartoons, letters to the editor, editorial opinion pieces, editorials, articles, among others. The individual text items were selected from Adelaide editions of The Advertiser and Sunday Mail, were published during the research period (3 June 2007 – 15 May 2008), and contained the word ‘bikie’. In addition to the primary sources, secondary sources were used, such as academic texts, like books and journal articles; and real crime/nonfiction books, which provide informant or police accounts of bikies, as well as the accounts of investigative journalists. While the newspaper corpus is of particular interest to this study, all sources will receive varying levels of attention depending on the subsidiary question being answered in the respective chapters.
Thesis Structure The structure of this thesis is guided by Cohen’s widely quoted ‘definition’ of moral panic, and his conceptual clarification in the third edition of his work, both of which were cited earlier. In other words, the thesis’s structure follows the stages outlined earlier: emergence and media inventory (Chapter 3), moral entrepreneurs and experts (Chapter 4), and coping, resolution, fade away and legacy (Chapter 5), comprising the three analysis chapters.
The first chapter, titled ‘Perspectives on moral panic’, presents a review of selected literature relating to moral panic. It provides a broad summary of Cohen’s 10
conceptualisation of moral panic, explores the key debates pertaining to the concept that are relevant to the present research, and examines important research on bikies in which moral panic has been explored. The second chapter, ‘Methodology’, explains the method used for this study, and the methodological presumptions underpinning it, and discusses the data set used for the project. The first and second chapters provide the essential foundation to the thesis.
Chapters 3, 4 and 5 present the results, analysis and discussion of the research undertaken. The third chapter, ‘Re-enter the bikie folk devil’, follows on from the brief description of the emergence and history of the biker and bikie provided in the Introduction. In addition, the chapter applies Cohen’s idea of the media inventory (Cohen 2002) in relation to the specific case of the Tonic event. In doing so, content and discourse analysis are employed to analyse a broad cross-section of sources for evidence of exaggeration, sensationalisation or distortion. Thus, the third chapter investigates the ‘bikie problem’ and the initial social reaction to the Tonic incident, inquiring how bikies generally and the Tonic incident specifically have been depicted.
Chapter 4, ‘Opinion and attitude themes’, identifies and analyses the dominant ways in which bikies and the bikie problem were conceptualised, and the ‘solutions’ proposed by moral entrepreneurs and ‘experts’ during the research period. The chapter uses content and discourse analysis to interrogate the dominant forms of understanding communicated within the newspaper corpus. Chapter 4 examines the moral entrepreneur and expert stages of Cohen’s moral panic (2002) mentioned earlier.
In the fifth and final analysis chapter, ‘The social control culture’, the new way in which the ‘agents of social control’ (the police, the judiciary and the legislature) (Cohen 2002, p. 66) responded to the Tonic incident, to control and remedy the bikie problem throughout the research period, is examined. A wide range of primary sources are used to analyse the resulting controls and the new culture that was promoted through their introduction. Chapter 5 covers the coping, resolution, fade away and legacy stages of Cohen’s conceptualisation (2002). 11
All of the analysis chapters (3 to 5) present evidence relating to Cohen’s (2002) conceptualisation of moral panic, including the elements identified by Goode and BenYehuda that he praised (Cohen 2002, p. xxii; see Goode and Ben-Yehuda 1994). The conclusion of each chapter summarises that chapter and describes its relationship to the rest of the thesis. Discussion of the contents of each chapter specifically in relation to Cohen’s conceptualisation is saved for the Conclusion of the thesis. This avoids disruption of the thesis’s narrative, is the most practical approach, and, given that the overall purpose of the thesis is to comment on the relevance of Cohen’s conceptualisation of moral panic in relation to the Tonic incident, it is believed that such discussion is best placed in the Conclusion.
Finally, the Conclusion is broken into three sections. The first section provides a synthesised overview of the analysis chapters (3 through 5) and their key findings, and explains how they interconnect. The second section explains why the Tonic incident did not constitute what Cohen called a moral panic (2002), it suggests some reasons and explanations that may have contributed to the findings reached, and identifies the limitations of the research and moral panic studies more broadly. The third proposes possible future research directions, and highlights outstanding issues pertaining to the moral panic concept and the way that such research is conducted.
12
CHAPTER 1: PERSPECTIVES ON MORAL PANIC
1.0
Introduction
In the 41 years since the publication of Stan Cohen’s Folk devils and moral panics, many researchers have employed the concept of moral panic in relation to diverse areas and topics of research. Originally a sociological theory developed in the early 1970s, which has since reached ‘something like canonical status’ (Jenkins 2009, p. 35), moral panic has become truly interdisciplinary. Sociologists, criminologists, historians, cultural theorists and media analysts have embraced the concept, using it to account for racial tensions (Poynting et al. 2004; Kabir 2007; Dagistanli 2007; Kirtley 2010; Okoronkwo 2008); describe the policing of protest (Vakalis 2010; Donson et al. 2004); explain community reactions to paedophilia (Marsh & Melville 2011, pp. 13–8; Horsfield 1997, pp. 32–9; Redfern 1997; Critcher 2002); analyse the stigma surrounding illicit drugs (Goode & Ben-Yehuda 1994; 2009; Young 1971; Becker 1963; Thompson 1998, Chapter 3; Rowe 2007; Dreher 2007); and investigate various subcultures (Cohen 1987; 2002; Evan 2007; Griffiths 2010). The late Stan Cohen could not have envisioned the volume of theory and research that his work inspired.
This chapter reviews the research that has followed and drawn upon Cohen’s seminal text to become the body of research known as moral panic studies. The chapter is broken into five subsections. The first explores two ways in which moral panic literature can be understood. The second engages with the most popular debates within moral panic scholarship, particularly those most relevant to this thesis. The third subsection continues the Introduction’s description of Cohen’s conceptualisation of moral panic by providing an overview of it and a critique of its use. Before providing a conclusion in the fifth subsection, the chapter then analyses the academic research that has already applied the moral panic concept to research into bikies. Broadly, the purpose of this chapter is to contextualise this thesis in the pre-existing academic 13
literature on moral panic, and to identify the ‘theoretical space’ within which this research belongs. These key debates in moral panic studies inform the analysis conducted in this thesis.
1.1
Broad Understandings
In moral panic scholarship there have been a number of attempts to formulate a broad understanding of the vast volume of literature in this area. Some have approached this endeavour by proposing that moral panic research can be understood in terms of ‘eras’ (Krinsky 2013); some have sought to create categories based on the diverse conceptualisations of moral panic (Klocke & Muschert 2010; Klocke & Muschert 2013); and others have sought to differentiate the scholarship through an analysis of the origins and operation of the incidences of moral panic (Goode & Ben-Yehuda 1994). Given that this chapter begins by presenting a broad review of the moral panic literature, this subsection explores the latter two approaches, as they are the most developed of the three. Further, these two approaches are the strongest ones as together they respect the inherent complexity of research and theory in this area and the need to generalise the large volume of research.
1.1.1
Differing Models
In their publications, Klocke and Muschert (2010; 2013) propose a way of understanding moral panic theories in a broad sense. They suggest that the literature can be divided into three types: procedural, elemental and modified hybrid. The first is exemplified by Cohen’s study in what they refer to as a ‘process-based model’ (Klocke & Muschert 2010, p. 301; Klocke & Muschert 2013, p. 419). Process-based models are those that posit moral panics to follow certain stages in a particular order. The second type, which Klocke and Muschert call ‘element-based model[s]’, is demonstrated by the work of Goode and Ben-Yehuda (1994) (Klocke & Muschert 2010, p. 301; 2013, p. 419), and Morgan and Poynting (2012, pp. 2–3). Element-based models typically define moral panics by their specific characteristics, rather than by process. Klocke and Muschert also identify a ‘modified hybrid model’, which their own work embodies (Klocke & Muschert 2010; 2013). Modified hybrid models, like Klocke and Muschert’s 14
(2010; 2013), are those that draw on all of the other models in this field, such as process and element-based ones, and take inspiration from texts that exemplify these, such as the work of Cohen (1987) and Goode and Ben-Yehuda (1994).
While the typology that Klocke and Muschert (2010; 2013) identify is somewhat helpful in understanding the moral panic literature, it is also limiting in that it misses two important points. The first is that Cohen’s conceptualisation of moral panic (1987) is inaccurately seen as process based (Klocke & Muschert 2010, p. 301; Klocke & Muschert 2013, p. 419) because the conceptual clarification he provides in the recent edition of his seminal text (Cohen 2002, p. xxii) is ignored (for further discussion on this, see section 1.2.3). In the third edition, Cohen provides a clarification of his original concept, and praises Goode and Ben-Yehuda’s work for identifying the moral panic elements that he conveys in his text (Cohen 2002, p. xxii). Thus, his model appears more as an example of a mixed model. The second limitation of Klocke and Muschert’s typology (2010; 2013) is that it does not treat the descriptive use of the moral panic concept as a type in its own right. This is consistent with the broader literature that tends to acknowledge the existence of the descriptive moral panic literature (see, for example, Shand 2011; Barker 2007) only for the purpose of critique (see subsection 1.1.2). While the descriptive use of moral panic should be discouraged for its comparatively scant analysis, the reality is that this type of literature is so popular that it is worthy of its own typology.
1.1.2
Grassroots, Interest Group and Elite-Engineered Moral Panics
The different theories of moral panic can be understood by an alternative, yet concurrent perspective to that offered by Klocke and Muschert (2010; 2013). Goode and Ben-Yehuda explain that there are three types of moral panic theories: those that are ‘grassroots’, interest group–oriented, and ‘elite-engineered’ (Goode & Ben-Yehuda 1994, Chapter 9). The grassroots model suggests that the origins and substance of the moral panic lies with the general public and is more or less a spontaneous eruption of concern over a perceived threat (Goode & Ben-Yehuda 1994, p. 127; Hunt 1997, p. 636; Garland 2008, p. 13). Those aligned to this model believe that the media and elites 15
cannot ‘stir up’ social concern if such concern does not already exist (Goode & BenYehuda 1994, pp. 127–8). Cohen’s study is said to represent this type of theory (see Hunt 1997, pp. 631, 636; Garland 2008, p. 13) because he saw the mods and rockers phenomenon as rooted in ‘cultural strain and ambiguity’ arising out of social change (Cohen 1980, cited in Hunt 1997, p. 636). The theory based on the function of interest groups understands that moral panics tend to originate from ‘the middle rungs of the power and status hierarchy’ (Goode & Ben-Yehuda 1994, p. 139), such as professional associations, police departments and the media (Goode & Ben-Yehuda 1994, p. 139). Finally, on the other end of the spectrum are theories which posit that moral panics are engineered by, and originate and/or are fuelled by social, economic, cultural and political elites. Bonn’s convincing analysis of the Bush administration’s mass deception to invade Iraq in 2003 exemplifies this top-down interpretation of moral panic (Bonn 2010). Similarly, Hall et al.’s Gramscian interpretation of moral panic (1978) rests on the idea that there exists a ‘hierarchy of credibility’ in the types of sources used by journalists in the production of news. According to these authors, the ‘primary definers’ in the hierarchy exercise their privilege in outlining the perimeters of social discourse on subjects (Hall et al. 1978).
Essentially what differentiates these three models is how they explain the emergence of the social concern that fuels the moral panic, specifically whether it originates from the ‘top’, ‘middle’ or ‘bottom’ of the social hierarchy. The role of the media in shaping moral panic is also a defining factor: are the media the ‘lapdogs’ of the ruling class, or ‘the voice of the people’? Whatever approach is used to study moral panic, it needs to be kept in mind, as Goode and Ben-Yehuda suggest, that how moral panics actually function is more complicated than is proposed by their typology (Goode & Ben-Yehuda 1994, Chapter 9). Furthermore, while a moral panic may begin as one type, its features may change throughout its life. Nonetheless, when reviewing the large volume of moral panic scholarship it is useful to understand the nature of moral panic with reference to these general typologies.
1.2
Key Debates Around Moral Panic
16
With its vast array of applications, a number of common themes and debates are apparent in the moral panic literature, which also relate to the present research. The points of contention revolve around the moralising dimension of the concept; the issues relating to the implicit suggestion that the social reaction is disproportionate to the event that precipitates it; the question of whether moral panic research demonstrates social concern and not merely media concern; the use of moral panic research to confirm the normative judgement of researchers, rather than evidence leading the direction and conclusions of their research; and the use of the concept of moral panic in a descriptive or rhetorical way, rather than as an analytical tool. These key debates are explored in this subsection.
1.2.1
The Moral in Moral Panic
Cohen’s concept incorporates not only moral panic, but also moral enterprise, moral crusades and moral indignation, much of which can be ascertained through the public discourses and actions of actors termed ‘moral entrepreneurs’ (Cohen 2002). But despite the centrality of moralisation to the concept of moral panic, a great deal of selfproclaimed moral panic research neglects the moralising aspect of this form of social reaction, as Garland (2008, p. 11) has observed. However, just as this thesis seeks to address the issue or moralisation, other scholars have similarly sought to emphasise the moral dimension of moral panic (see, for example, Critcher 2009; Lundström 2011; Noble 2012). In doubting the validity of some moral panic scholarship, Hunt rightly points out that most moral panic studies lack a clear moral dimension (2013, p. 55). According to Hunt, moral panics are a form of moral politics, like moral regulation (2013). Morals refer to ‘all instances in which the values and practices that, irrespective of any consequences that they give rise to, are deemed to be wrong to a degree that justifies condemnation’ (2013, p. 55). This may be expressed through discourses of harm, danger, risk and precaution (Hunt 2013). However, it can also be expressed through discourses of criminality insofar as ‘people experience social order as moral order’ (Noble 2012, p. 217). Discourses of criminality are exemplary of moralisation as they define ‘good’ and ‘bad’ citizens through ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ behaviours, which are usually said to be determined by laws that ‘represent’ a society’s values. Discourses of
17
criminality that are moralising embrace the discourses of harm, danger, risk and precaution (Hunt 2013).
Moralisation does not occur by itself, but rather is performed by actors. The moral panic research suggests that while there may be moralising processes, procedures and discourses, this moralisation is directed and guided by specific people. This act of directing or guiding people towards a particular idea of ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ behaviour is referred to as a moral enterprise, which is engaged in by moral entrepreneurs (Cohen 2002). Following Becker (1963), Cohen used this phrase to denote ‘right-thinking people’, such as ‘editors, bishops, [and] politicians’ (2002, p. 1). To use Becker’s explanation, rules and social norms are produced through the initiative of such people (1963, p. 147). Moral entrepreneurs can be categorised into two types: ‘rule creators’ or ‘moral crusaders’ (such as legislators, ‘experts’, activists and interest groups); and ‘rule enforcers’ (the judges and police, but particularly the police) (Becker 1963, Chapter 8). It should be noted that while Cohen does not specifically label ‘experts’ as ‘rightthinking people’ in his ‘definition’ (2002, p. 1) (that is, moral entrepreneurs), this thesis follows Becker’s understanding that ‘experts’ can be seen as moral entrepreneurs (1963, p. 152). Further, this thesis also denotes journalists as moral entrepreneurs because of their ability to construct or reproduce and disseminate a particular worldview. This is done by, for instance, emphasising some elements of a news story and ignoring others, or by reporting particular suspected crimes and not others.
1.2.2
The Panic in Moral Panic
In addition to moralisation and moral enterprising, another relatively ignored, yet significant point of Cohen’s study (2002) is that of panic. Much research subsequent to Cohen’s (2002) has been preoccupied by the (legitimate) question of what constitutes disproportionality, but they neglect a preceding issue: what is it that people are allegedly panicking about? A reoccurring theme of Cohen’s study was the significance of prediction in moral panics – prediction being the forecasting of future and worse incidences of deviance (Cohen 2002). Related is the idea that if the problem is not prevented or countered then the moral and social order of society will crumble. This is 18
what Cohen referred to as ‘prophecies of doom’ (2002). It is the concern that the threat will lead to a sort of moral ‘apocalypse’ that the panic in moral panic refers to. However, because the concept has been applied so liberally to case studies, some have mistakenly criticised the concept rather than how it has been used.
As Young articulated, the idea of moral panic implies that the ‘public reaction was completely disproportionate to the actual problem faced… At no point was it suggested that such a term should be used to blank out and denigrate fears and concerns about crime’ (1994, cited in Hunt 1997, p. 642). Similar to Young (1994, cited in Hunt 1997, p. 642), Cohen has tried to defend the concept by stating that the term ‘panic’ functions as ‘an extended metaphor’ (2002, p. xxvi). Yet the views of Young and Cohen are in stark contrast to the criticisms held by many moral panic researchers. For some, such as Lumby (1997), the term and its application are patronising and carry a sexist stigmatism: ‘[w]hen we accuse others of panicking we’re accusing them of not thinking clearly. Of acting the way women and crowds are supposed to behave – irrationally, impulsively and hysterically’ (p. 40). Further, Ungar (2001, pp. 284, 285) and Horsfield (1997) argue that a researcher is demonstrating as much moralisation as those whom they critique when the moral panic label is applied to social anxieties.
One of the strongest criticisms, however, comes from Waddington, who argues that ‘we [moral panic researchers] are provided with no criteria for determining what a proportionate … response would be’ (1986, p. 225). Yet this claim is no longer accurate, and must be viewed in context. When Waddington’s articles was published in 1986 there was a far smaller volume of research on moral panic than what exists today. Since then, for example, Goode and Ben-Yehuda have published two editions of their research (1994; 2009), which articulates two ways in which moral panic researchers can deal with the question of disproportionality.
Whether influenced by Goode and Ben-Yehuda (1994) or not, moral panic scholarship tends to deal with the question of proportionality in two ways. One way, as Goode and Ben-Yehuda suggest, is through comparison: ‘[t]he degree of public concern 19
over the behavior itself, the problem it poses, or condition it creates is far greater than is true for comparable, even more damaging, actions’ (Goode & Ben-Yehuda 1994, p. 36). This I call the comparative method. A notable example of this method is seen in the work of Shand (2011), who contrasts the greater social concerns over bikie crimes with the lesser concern around the crimes of influential people such as former Assistant Director of the NSW Crime Commission, Mark Standen, who was sentenced for conspiring to import 300 kilograms of pseudoephedrine – a precursor chemical in the production of the illicit drug crystal methamphetamine. A second way, which is also recommended by Goode and Ben-Yehuda, is to judge the reaction in direct proportion to the objective harm posed by the ‘problem’ (1994, p. 36). Thompson’s classic study of the social response to the youth rave scene and the use of the drug ecstasy is exemplary of this method (1998, Chapter 3). While a contentious method, the ‘objective’ measurement of harm more broadly is an issue dealt with by others (see, for example, Flyghed 2002, p. 25; von Hirsch & Jareborg 1991). This method I call the singular method. To identify disproportionality in the case of the bikie problem broadly, and the Tonic incident specifically, this thesis uses both the comparative and singular methods.
1.2.3
Social Concern Versus Media Concern
In critiquing how researchers decide which issues are suitable for moral panic analysis, Ungar observes that ‘[d]efinitions of [moral panic] all stipulate that “overheated periods of intense concern” or “explosions of fear” must be relatively widespread among the public’ (Ungar 2001, p. 279; see, for example, Goode & Ben-Yehuda 1994, p. 33). Ungar thus points to a pressing problem in moral panic research: how researchers demonstrate that what they claim to be a matter of widespread concern is actually widespread. For Goode and Ben-Yehuda this question is resolved by their identification of ‘measurable’ and ‘concrete’ data, such as ‘public opinion polls, public commentary in the form of media attention, proposed legislation, number of arrests and imprisonments, and social movement activity’ (1994, p. 33). Further, while Cohen (2002) focused on the media, he also used court documents, surveys, minutes from community/association meetings, and the like. In doing so, he illustrated that there was significant and widespread social concern over the mods and rockers, rather than a mere ‘press panic’ (van Dijk 1988). In contrast, most moral panic research does not draw 20
upon such a diverse evidence base to demonstrate the existence of widespread social concern (see, for example, Morgan 1997). Instead, as Ungar rightly advises, ‘[r]ather than drawing inferences from a single source or indicator, [moral panic] investigators are asked to look for clusters of cohering evidence’ (2001, p. 281). This thesis follows the guidance of Goode and Ben-Yehuda (1994), in utilising a number of ‘measurable’ and ‘concrete’ data to make the sorts of inferences that Ungar (2001) suggests. However, questions about the actual link – if any exists – between widespread social concern and media influence continue to be points of contention in the literature (see, for example, David et al. 2011, pp. 223–4), including this study. It is doubtful that such a debate will be resolved or reach a consensus soon; therefore, in practical terms, the best that moral panic researchers can do is to suggest inferences.
1.2.4
Confirmatory Moral Panic Research
The concept of moral panic has over the years received some harsh criticism, which has possibly contributed to its almost total abandonment among sociologists (Jewkes 2011, p. 75). One of the concept’s staunchest critics, Ungar (2001), suggests that the term and the way that the research is carried out are motivated by political agendas, so that research based on the concept lacks objectivity. This viewpoint is reasonable, particularly given that an overwhelming majority of moral panic scholarship is confirmatory in nature such that when the concept is mobilised by researchers it is almost always used to prove that a particular case evidences moral panic. Moral panic analyses are rarely applied to situations that demonstrate the opposite – that something is not an incident of moral panic. Indeed, only a tiny number of anomalies to the confirmatory moral panic research exist (see, for example, Collins 2012; Donson et al. 2004). One example is seen in Collins’s article (2012) on piracy in Somalia, which concludes that the media’s response to the matter is more akin to agenda setting than moral panic.6 While the initial hypothesis of the present research was that the SOCC
6
It is important to note that research like that of Collins (2012) is different to other moral panic literature
that explains why specific case studies do not amount to be moral panics (see, for example, Jenkins 2009; Levi 2009). This other sort of moral panic research investigates the characteristics that make a moral panic successful and focus on case studies rather than the concept of moral panic itself.
21
Act emerged as a result of the moral panic that followed the Tonic incident, the findings reveal the contrary.
1.2.5
Simplification of Moral Panic
As mentioned earlier, some researchers are inclined to not see descriptive uses of moral panic as a legitimate approach. It tends to be the case in moral panic research that the descriptive use of moral panic is only acknowledged for the purposes of critique, rather than being seen as a useful model in its own right. The argument against this use of the concept is that moral panic is thereby reduced to a simple descriptive term, rather than representing a concise analytical blueprint to demonstrate or test whether a case study is a moral panic. This simplified use of the term has been observed in the spheres of both academia and popular culture (Garland 2008, pp. 9–10; Klocke & Muschert 2010, pp. 296, 301; Kirtley 2010, p. 9; Sternberg 1997, p. 80; Boëthius 1995, p. 42; Hunt 1997; Critcher 2011; Cohen 2011; Altheide 2009; Jenks 2011, p. 230). For example, it has been cited in recent times in relation to business and economics (see Alberici 2012; Cuddihy 2012), and used descriptively in books, such as the work of Shand (2011) and Barker (2007), where the concept is not used for analytical purposes. The use of moral panic in a descriptive way is also evident in academic research (see, for example, Veno & Gannon 2009; Vakalis 2010). It may be natural that concepts as popular as moral panic follow such a destiny, but as Hunt (1997, p. 630) points out, academics must bear some of the responsibility for its popularised use, particularly by the mass media (Hunt 1997; Altheide 2009). Even though ‘real’ moral panic researchers look down upon this application of the concept of moral panic, it retains an important element that runs throughout moral panic theories: the assumption that the reaction is out of proportion and/or exaggerated, thus highlighting the panic in moral panic. Nonetheless, as Cohen (2011) and Critcher (2011) argue, ‘it is essential for the term moral panic to be … [more] than simply … a free-floating term to be applied to label any expression of outrage or concern whose validity … may [be] question[ed]’ (David et al. 2011, p. 217). Given this, and despite my different adoption of the term in the past (see Vakalis 2010), this thesis uses moral panic as a specific analytical tool – as it ought to be used.
22
1.3
Cohen’s Moral Panic Model
Having now surveyed the moral panic literature and the debates that are key to this thesis, the chapter now provides an overview and discussion of the conceptualisation of moral panic upon which this thesis relies, as defined by Cohen (2002).
1.3.1
Overview of Cohen’s Moral Panic
In addition to Young (1971), other researchers have also inspired Cohen’s (1987; 2002) conceptualisation of moral panic (Jones 1997, p. 6; Krinsky 2013, pp. 3–5). His ideas on ‘moral entrepreneurs’ originated in Becker’s 1963 text (Chapter 8); his ideas of panic were informed by Smelser’s 1962 book; his interest in social control cultures followed Lemert’s 1951 work; and he drew upon Wilkins’s (1964) ideas on deviance amplification. Theoretically, Cohen was inspired by subcultural studies, labelling theory, youth delinquency studies, research on stigma, social psychology, research on media and deviancy, and, most notably, disaster studies. As stated previously, Cohen illustrated his conceptualisation of moral panic in his seminal text (Cohen 1987; 2002). The case he investigates is that of the 1960s phenomenon of English mods and rockers, which sparked widespread social concern following an altercation between the two adolescent groups in the Easter of 1964 on the beaches of Clacton (Britain) (Cohen 1987; 2002). For Cohen, the mods and rockers phenomenon was worthy of investigation because of the unique political, cultural and economic context of post–World War II Britain at the time. The broader social concerns around sexual freedom, affluence and the rise of youth consumer culture that mods and rockers represented was resented by English society, which ultimately led to their construction as folk devils and the imposition of punitive measures against them (Cohen 1987; 2002).
Unlike Young’s 1971 study of the construction of the marijuana user, Cohen’s text did not focus on deviancy per se, but rather society’s amplification of and reaction to it, particularly that of the press and right-thinking people (or moral entrepreneurs). In exploring the reaction of British society to the mods and rockers, Cohen identified specific attributes in the production of moral panics. It is widely believed that, in the first paragraph of his text (2002, p. 1), Cohen sums up the moral panic process in six 23
phases (see Figure 1). It should be stated, however, that exactly how many stages his passage details is disputed (see subsection 1.2.2). Although some research since Cohen’s study has been preoccupied with defining his stages, Cohen’s analysis was significant because of the interactive relationship between folk devils and society he described: ‘typically one of deviance amplification that occurs because media attention and increased social control prompt a hardening of the original deviance, or even an enhancement of its attraction for potential deviants’ (Garland 2008, p. 14).
Another defining factor of Cohen’s work (1987; 2002) is that he saw similarities between people’s reaction to events such as natural disasters and the social response to the mods and rockers phenomenon. Cohen adopted the six-part response process observed by researchers of natural disasters to assist with his analysis. In addition to the six phases of the disaster sequence (Cohen 2002, pp. 12–3; see also Figure 2), he used the six phases of his moral panic model to structure his book. Cohen conceded, however, that there are fundamental differences between disasters and deviancy – namely, that the reaction to deviance is causative and triggers a ‘system’ (Cohen 2002, p. 13), unlike disasters, which occur with no regard to society’s reaction (Cohen 2002, p. 13). While Cohen’s conceptualisation of moral panic (1987; 2002) is influenced by disaster studies, disaster research identifies that people facing natural disasters do not ‘panic’, but rather exhibit ‘rational behaviour based on fear’ (der Heide 2004, p. 342).
1.2.2
Number of Stages in Cohen’s Moral Panic
An academic point of contention relating to Cohen’s study (2002) is the number of stages his conceptualisation posits, as understood through the famous and widely quoted opening passage to his text (see Cohen 2002, p. 1). The perceived number of stages within Cohen’s conceptualisation varies among researchers. For instance, some claim there are four (see, for example, Bessant & Watts 2002, pp. 173–4); some argue for five (see, for example, Klocke & Muschert 2010; 2013); and others believe there are seven (see, for example, McNally 2008; Poynting & Morgan 2007). As Figure 1 suggests, this thesis understands Cohen’s conceptualisation to incorporate seven stages – emergence, media inventory, moral entrepreneur, expert, coping and resolution, fade away and 24
Emergence Stage A condition, episode, person or group of persons emerges to become defined as a threat to societal values and interests
Media Inventory Stage Its nature is presented in a stylised and stereotypical fashion by the mass media
Moral Entrepreneur Stage The moral barricades are manned by editors, bishops, politicians and other right-thinking people
Expert Stage Socially accredited experts pronounce their disagnosis and solutions
Coping and Resolution Stage Ways of coping are evolved or (more often) resorted to
Fade Away Stage The condition then disappears, submerges or deteriorates and becomes more visible
Legacy Stage Sometimes the object of the panic passes over and is forgotten, except in folklore and collective memory; at other times it has more serious and longlasting repercussions and might produce such changes as those in legal and social policy or even in the way the society conceives itself Figure 1: Cohen's moral panic model (adapted from Cohen 2002, p. 1). 25
Warning Feelings of anxiety from conditions perceived as possibly troublesome
Threat People are exposed to communication or signs that interpret the codition as danger
Impact The disaster occurs and people's unorganised response to it takes place
Inventory People frame a preliminary picture of what had occured and its impact on them
Rescue Resources are mobilised for immediate assistance locally and nationally
Remedy Organised responses are coordinated to relieve the impact, in which the 'suprasystem' takes over functions
Recovery The equilibrium is restored or society adapts to the changes from the disaster Figure 2: Cohen's disaster sequence (adapted from Cohen 2002, pp. 12-3). 26
legacy – as this schema includes all of the different aspects of Cohen’s popularly quoted opening passage (Cohen 2002, p. 1), reproduced in the Introduction of this thesis.
1.2.3
Conceptual Clarification of Cohen’s Moral Panic
While the overwhelming majority of the moral panic literature cites Cohen’s work (1987), there is a tendency to rely on the first and second editions of his seminal text. There are also some who cite the third edition (see, for example, Garland 2008), but more often simply to acknowledge its existence rather than rely on its content (see, for example, Garland 2008). This is understandable given that it may be assumed that the fundamentals of the original edition would remain largely intact in the third. However, the significance of the third edition should not be understated, as its Introduction provides valuable insight that clarifies Cohen’s conceptualisation of moral panic (Cohen 2002, Introduction to the Third Edition).
Contrary to the perception among some researchers that Cohen’s and Goode and Ben-Yehuda’s conceptualisations of moral panic are different, Cohen’s third edition points to their similarity. In praising the work of Goode and Ben-Yehuda, he suggests that these authors clearly identify the elements of his idea of moral panic conveyed in his previous editions. Indeed, he suggests that moral panic researchers should pay particular attention to the elements identified by Goode and Ben-Yehuda, in conjunction with the widely quoted passage from his original text that has been held as the definition of his moral panic model. However, as Morgan et al. state, ‘he was careful to acknowledge that the ordering of these phases is not rigid and may vary according to the context and subject of the moral panic’ (2010, p. 582). It is for this reason that this thesis relies on Cohen’s third edition. This supports the uniqueness of this study, as little moral panic research embraces Cohen’s clarification (2002).
1.4
Pre-Existing Research
As has been demonstrated throughout this chapter, there exists a large volume of moral panic scholarship which has analysed a vast array of topics. Of that large body of work, 27
a small fraction applies the concept to bikies – only five such works were identified (Barker 2007; Shand 2011; Morgan et al. 2010; Veno & Gannon 2009; Veno & van den Eynde 2007). Two of these are relevant to this thesis given their focus on moral panic (Morgan et al. 2010; Veno & van den Eynde 2007). However, these studies have limitations.
The first study to be examined is that of Veno and ven den Eynde (2007). These authors utilise the concept of moral panic in a social action research project aimed at averting what seemed to them to them as the beginnings of an elite-engineered moral panic against bikies by the Rann government in 2006 (Veno & van den Eynde 2007). By identifying the stages of Cohen’s moral panic, they were able to design a campaign for an unnamed MC, aimed at softening the club’s public image and reconstructing them as victims of state oppression in the hope of ‘neutralising’ the supposed looming moral panic (Veno & van den Eynde 2007). The results of their pre-emptive campaign led them to claim success (Veno & van den Eynde 2007) even though it was not certain that a moral panic was to occur. Nonetheless, one of the strongest contributions of Veno and van den Eynde’s (2007) research is to the emerging moral panic literature on the agency of folk devils and their resistance to demonisation and oppression (see, for example, McRobbie & Thornton 1995; deYoung 2013). However, Morgan et al.’s (2010) claims of and research on moral panic have been more persuasive.
In exploring the events that led to the NSW Government introducing its own version of SA’s SOCC Act (the Crimes (Criminal Organisation Control) Act 2009), Morgan et al. (2010) adopt the moral panic concept to explain the passing of the law. As indicated earlier, Morgan et al.’s (2010) research incorporates Cohen’s (2002) conceptual clarification. They argue that the passage of the law was indicative of the broader social anxieties around ‘terrorism’, which have facilitated the broader disproportionate trend to blur the distinction between general crime policing and ‘counter-terrorism’ policing (Morgan et al. 2010). Ultimately, Morgan et al. argue, the nature of the resulting control culture implemented by NSW can be understood best by fusing the ideas of moral panic, penal populism and the new punitiveness (Morgan et al. 2010, p. 593). While these authors did not clearly demonstrate the moralisation in their 28
case study, it is their use of the latter two concepts that is one of the strengths of their research, and which partly informs this thesis.
1.5
Conclusion
In the 41-year lifespan of Cohen’s notion of moral panic, an incredible volume of research utilising this concept has been generated. Just as it has led to some genuinely interesting studies, it has also produced a number of points of contention. Among these sites of contention are the limited use of moral panic as an analytical tool, the confirmatory nature of moral panic research, the neglect of the moral dimension of the concept, and the suggestion that a reaction to which the moral panic label can be applied is necessarily disproportionate. These debates are not only the most contentious aspects of the moral panic literature, but also reflect the issues with which this thesis engages the most. It is in relation to these contentious areas that the present research is set apart from other moral panic studies – most notably because it uses moral panic as an analytical tool and follows Cohen’s conceptual clarification of moral panic as espoused in the third edition of his seminal text.
29
CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY
2.0
Introduction
For the research underpinning Folk Devils and Moral Panics, Cohen used a variety of sources, including interviews, participant observation and documentary sources such as legal documents (2002). However, a substantial part of his research relied on an analysis of newspaper texts. Similarly, this thesis is based on an analysis of newspaper sources. It uses both quantitative and qualitative methodologies, specifically, content and discourse analysis, to examine data such as newspaper sources. This chapter sets out the method by which the thesis analyses these sources. In particular, it describes discourse and content analysis, the documentary corpus and its collection strategy, before outlining the ethical considerations related to the project. Essentially, the function of this chapter is to promote an understanding of the conclusions reached by illustrating the underlying assumptions of the project and the methods of analysis utilised.
2.1
Content and Discourse Analysis
Gaye Tuchman stated that ‘the method one should choose when approaching any topic … depends upon the question one wants to answer’ (Tuchman 1991, p. 79). In light of this, the thesis employs a qualitative and quantitative approach, specifically, content and discourse analysis. Qualitative and quantitative methodologies have very different philosophical backgrounds, but, as Hardy et al. rightly point out, the use of content and discourse analysis can be complementary (Hardy et al. 2004, p. 20), strengthening a research project such as this.
Objectivity, measuring, consistency, validity, scientific method, and a belief that ‘the facts speak for themselves’ are some of the assumptions that underpin quantitative research (May 2001), and all characterise content analysis. Content analysis is a 30
typically quantitative methodology, reflective of its philosophical roots in positivism, giving this methodology both its limitations and its strengths. Essentially, content analysis is concerned with patterns in texts, and identifying content units, like words and how they are clustered (Laffey & Weldes 2004, p. 29). Based on this method, content analysis is deemed to be objective because it ‘involves the development of analytical categories that are used to construct a coding frame [word/concept lists] that is then applied to [content analysis]’ (Hardy et al. 2004, p. 20; see also Neuendorf 2004, p. 34). Proponents of content analysis claim objectivity because a coding frame is created, making the analysis and results replicable (Hardy et al. 2004, p. 20; Lowe 2004; Neuendorf 2004, p. 34). The bounds of relevant text that are subject to analysis are then supposedly made clear, and the meaning of words or phrases are treated in the same way in different contexts (Hardy et al. 2004, p. 20).
In contrast to the objectives underlying quantitative methodologies, the aims of qualitative methods are of an ontological and epistemological nature. Qualitative methods are grounded in the belief that an explanation of the ‘broader picture’ is required, which is a fundamental value of discourse analysis. Discourse analysis proceeds from the premise that, in order to gain a thorough understanding of texts, such as newspapers, they must be studied in context (Neuendorf 2004, p. 33; Hardy et al. 2004, p. 19; van Dijk 1996, p. 10; see also Hopf 2004; Crawford 2004). In relation to media analysis, Teun van Dijk explains that discourse analysis:
systematically examines the structures and functions of text and talk in their social, political, and cultural contexts … [discourse analysis] claims that in order to understand the role of the news media and their ‘messages,’ one needs to pay detailed attention to the structures and strategies of such discourses and to the ways these relate to institutional arrangements, on the one hand, and to the audience, on the other hand. (van Dijk 1996, p. 10)
Similarly, Hardy et al. describe discourse analysis as:
31
a methodology for analyzing social phenomena that is qualitative, interpretive, and constructionist. It explores how the socially produced ideas and objects that populate the world were created and are held in place. … [I]t endeavors to uncover the way in which that reality was produced. … [discourse analysis] provides a more profound interrogation of the precarious status of meaning. Where other qualitative methodologies work to understand or interpret social reality as it exists, [discourse analysis] tries to uncover the way that reality is produced. (Hardy et al. 2004, p. 19)
While it is not clear precisely what methodology Cohen used in his research, the descriptions provided above by van Dijk and Hardy et al. illustrate the appropriateness of discourse analysis for a thesis that utilises Cohen’s concept of moral panic (2002), as it is concerned with the social construction of social ‘problems’, media representations, agents of social control, and audience reception or social concern. However, discourse analysis has been criticised on the grounds that it is not valid, reliable and objective because the researcher is the measuring instrument, in contrast to the development of a coding frame that is applied to the corpus (Neuendorf 2004, p. 34). The concern is that the researcher may interpret the data in a way different to the audience that the text was aimed at (Crawford 2004, p. 24). In contrast, as Hopf and others have noted, because discourse is socially constructed it cannot be objectively studied, as the producer of the discourse is not an objective actor (Hopf 2004, p. 31; Hardy et al. 2004, pp. 19, 20; Crawford 2004; Laffey & Weldes 2004, p. 28).
Nonetheless, both content and discourse analysis have strengths and limitations, and can therefore complement each other. As Neuendorf states:
A DA [discourse analysis] could assemble a fuller investigation of the network of discourse surrounding [a] trend, in order to begin to answer questions of how and why this phenomenon occurs … Here, CA [content analysis] provides the ‘clue’ as to a critical pattern in message content that deserves a more in-depth look. (Neuendorf 2004, p. 35)
32
The combination of content and discourse analysis most closely resembles Cohen’s methodology, despite his research not clearly articulating a methodology (Cohen 2002).
2.2
The Corpus
This thesis uses a broad range of publicly available documentary sources. The documents cited vary depending on the subsidiary research question being addressed; however, as in the work of Cohen (2002), most of the analysis relies on an examination of newspaper texts. Other sources such as Hansard transcripts, media releases and academic texts are also used. A description of all of the sources used, the rationale for their use, and the strategy adopted for their collection is presented below.
2.2.1
The Newspaper Corpus
As Cohen notes, the assumption underpinning his reliance on newspaper sources is ‘that the mass media are the primary source of the public’s knowledge about deviance and social problems’ (Cohen 2002, p. xxii; see also Cohen 2002, p.18). This is particularly so in regards to stories about crime (Allan 2010; Jewkes 2011). When studying social reaction and how certain outcomes gain legitimacy, it is important to look at media sources, particularly in relation to the investigation of distortion, stylisation and concern regarding the ‘bikie problem’ and the Tonic incident. This data set is termed ‘bikie newspaper corpus’, as each textual item contains the word ‘bikie’ or is otherwise bikierelated. These items were taken from the printed state editions of The Advertiser and Sunday Mail from 3 June 2007 to 15 May 2008 (termed the research period). They were located by scanning the Victorian and South Australian State Library’s microfilm and newspaper archives. A total of 274 ‘bikie newspaper texts’ were located (see Figure 3 and Table 1). The process was aided by a list of textual newspaper items featuring the word ‘bikie’, which was populated by the search results of the online newspaper
33
34
23
Sunday Mail
16
15
Jul-07 4
19 1
6 8
12
5
7
1
7
1
14
4
22
7
14
0
6
Aug-07 Sep-07 Oct-07 Nov-07 Dec-07 Jan-08 Feb-08 Mar-08 Apr-08
6
22
1 - 15 May 08
research period (3 June 2007 - 15 May 2008).
Figure 3: Monthly distribution of bikie-related newspaper texts published in The Advertiser and Sunday Mail during the
54
3 - 30 Jun 07
The Advertiser
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
Table 1: Monthly distribution of bikie-related newspaper texts published in The Advertiser and Sunday Mail during the research period (3 June 2007 - 15 May 2008). The Advertiser
Sunday Mail
Subtotal
3 – 30 June 2007
54
23
77
July 2007
15
16
31
August 2007
19
4
23
September 2007
6
1
7
October 2007
12
8
20
November 2007
7
5
12
December 2007
7
1
8
58
178
Subtotal 120
January 2008
14
1
15
February 2008
22
4
26
March 2008
14
7
21
April 2008
6
0
6
1 – 15 May 2008
22
6
28
18
96
76
274
Subtotal 78 Total 198
35
database Factiva.7
The research period was chosen for four main reasons. First, in the First Reading Speech of Atkinson’s introduction to the SA Parliament of the SOCC Bill, he cites the Tonic incident and the 1999 Wright Street shootings as justification for the proposed legislation (Atkinson, cited Parliament of SA 2007b, p. 1805). Second, in using the online newspaper databases Factiva and NewsBank to search The Advertiser and Sunday Mail published from the start of Rann’s leadership (2002) to the year the SOCC Bill was passed (2008) for the phrases ‘bikie’ and ‘terrorism’, it was found that the first mention of the government considering the importation of the federal ‘anti-terrorism’ laws against bikies occurred eight days after the Tonic incident (Kyriacou 2007a, p. 79). In addition, Rann raised the idea in the SA Parliament only three days after the Tonic incident (Rann, cited in Parliament of SA 2007a, p. 300). Third, following another search of the two databases, a search for the word ‘bikie’ was carried out from the earliest of the databases’ records (NewsBank – 16 January 1998; Factiva – 22 January 1998) to the date of the passing of the SOCC Bill (8 May 2008). It was found that 2007 and 2008 had the highest volume of newspaper texts containing the word ‘bikie’ (see Figure 4). Fourth, as the SOCC Bill was given Royal Assent on 15 May 2008, the end date of the research period is as much symbolic as it is functional. All of these reasons suggested that the ‘flashpoint’ for the SOCC Bill was the Tonic incident, thus validating the choice of dates for the research period (3 June 2007 – 15 May 2008).
The Advertiser and Sunday Mail newspapers were chosen as the subject of analysis to ensure that the research project was manageable in terms of the volume of data to be analysed. The state editions of The Advertiser and Sunday Mail were particularly relevant because they are the only SA-based (tabloid) newspapers. Further, it was thought that these newspapers would contain a mix of local/community, state and national stories, which would help identify the extent of the concern over the ‘bikie 7
The reason why Factiva was only used an aid to the manual collection of data is because of reliability
issues. For instance, it would count some newspaper texts but not others and it would mostly count federal editions of The Advertiser and Sunday Mail. Similar issues were also present in regards to data populated by NewsBank, however, it tended to provide more accurate results than Factiva.
36
37
40
NewsBank
106
64
1999
49
44
2000
79
70
2001
90
87
2002
101
95
2003
77
87
2004
101
97
2005
138
125
2006
206
196
2007
103
98
1 Jan 15 May 2008
Advertiser and Sunday Mail from 16 January 1998 to 15 May 2008 according to results populated by Factiva and NewsBank.
Figure 4: Comparative estimations for the rate of textual newspaper items containing the word 'bikie' published in The
27
16 Jan 31 Dec 1998
Factiva
0
50
100
150
200
250
problem’ – an issue that is important to Cohen’s conceptualisation of moral panic (Cohen 2002).
It is conceded that an analysis dominated by print news may be seen as limited. However, this approach was taken for several reasons. First, Cohen’s (2002) model was primarily designed for the study of print news. Second, what is printed on the pages of newspapers still has a considerable impact on public policy. Third, studying print news discourses, like letters to the editor, is one of the most practical methods for gaining an impression of public perceptions on a topic.
2.2.2
The Remaining Corpus
In addition to the bikie newspaper corpus, other documentary sources are utilised. These include police media releases, official reports, journal articles, real-crime fiction, academic and biographical or autobiographical texts, legal documents, and parliamentary sources such as Hansard records. Unlike the bikie newspaper corpus, these sources were not restricted to a specific timeframe, as they function to contextualise and guide the analysis. However, for sources such as journal articles, they are generally used for analysis and evidentiary purposes. Many of the sources that do not make up the bikie newspaper corpus are available online, in print or by request.
Having highlighted the broader range of sources this thesis draws upon, it is appropriate that the collection strategy for these sources be explained. The collection strategy used differed depending on the type of source. For instance, SA Parliamentary Hansard records were downloaded from the SA Parliament website by searching the records that contained the phrases ‘bikie’, ‘outlaw motorcycle gang’ and ‘motorcycle gang’ – as they are popularly referred to in Australian public discourse – during the research period. Police media releases released during the research period that included the phrases ‘bikie’, ‘outlaw motorcycle’ and ‘motorcycle gang’ were downloaded from the SA Police (SAPol) website. Official reports, such as that produced by the Parliamentary Joint Committee on the Australian Crime Commission (ACC) (2009) and the SAPol’s Annual Reports (2007; 2008), were downloaded from websites, located as 38
a result of independent research, via recommendation, or found through the bibliographical details in other sources, and were not necessarily published during the research period. This is a similar method to that used to source the various other texts (such as journal articles and books) used in this thesis.
When using ‘official sources’ such as government or police media releases, questions around validity and reliability arise, as Tim May and others have highlighted (see May 2001, Chapter 4; McCulloch 1996, pp. 106–7; McGovern & Lee 2010). This question was similarly a feature in McCulloch’s qualitative analysis of media reports relating to a fatal police shooting (McCulloch 1996, pp. 106–7). Like McCulloch (1996, pp. 106–7), I concur that official sources are arguably more reliable than those drawn from the media, and are useful for comparison with media representations, as was carried out in this research. Nonetheless, one must exercise a degree of caution and scepticism.
2.3
Method of Each Chapter
While the previous section details the types of sources used, the research period, and other general methodological decisions made in the course of this research, there are also methods specific to the answering of each subsidiary question that each ‘analysis chapter’ embodies. These specific methods and their rationale are explained below.
2.3.1
Chapter 3
The first subsidiary question is intended to identify the role and presence of exaggeration, distortion, prediction and symbolism in relation to the bikie problem and the Tonic incident, particularly as produced by the media – as was similarly explored by Cohen (2002, Chapter 2). This is a two-tiered question, in which each part is approached somewhat differently. In the first sense, sources such as newspaper texts, journal articles, books and official reports are examined to determine the degree of the threat posed by bikies, the nature of public discourse on them, and the seriousness of the threat poses by comparison (see, for example, Jenkins 2009). This is predominantly 39
carried out by analysing the sources in a qualitative way. In addition, with reference to the bikie newspaper corpus, the thesis investigates the existence, level and volatility of social concern. This is conducted in a quantitative way, such as through statistical proportion, because, as Goode and Ben-Yehuda state, ‘concern should be … measurable in concrete ways through, for example, public opinion polls, public commentary in the form of media attention, … and so on’ (1994, p. 33). Further, the question is intended to ascertain whether bikies have been constructed as folk devils, or presented in a predominantly negative fashion by actors such as the media.
The sources used, like the newspapers, will shed light on the media’s representation not only of bikies overall, but also of the Tonic incident specifically. In addressing the second part of the question, the representation of the Tonic incident, particularly by the media, is investigated for discrepancies, exaggerations and distortions, as well as stereotyping. There is a focus on examining media and official sources throughout; however, newspaper texts are the main source material relied upon. These newspaper texts are referred to as ‘Tonic newspaper texts’. These texts were taken from the broader bikie newspaper corpus on the basis that their content referred either mostly or in part to the Tonic incident. This data set is, for instance, used to investigate exaggeration or distortion (through colourful language or dramatic headlines, for example); the prophesising of future, ongoing and escalatory bikie incidents; and stereotyping, in regards to reportage of the Tonic incident. Content and discourse analysis is utilised to carry out this investigation. Because the object of analysis is the Tonic incident, an additional data set is derived from the Tonic newspaper texts, which specifically relates to the initial reaction period following the Tonic incident. That is, the period during which the incident was still ‘fresh’, inferred from the high volume of newspaper texts published immediately after the Tonic incident (see Figure 5). This data set, representing the initial reaction period, contained newspaper articles published between 3 and 8 June 2007.
2.3.2
Chapter 4
The second subsidiary question explored by the thesis asks how moral entrepreneurs 40
12 10 8 6 4 2 0
Newspaper texts somewhat about the Tonic incident Newspaper texts mostly about the Tonic incident Other bikie newspaper texts Figure 5: Daily distribution of bikie-related newspaper texts two weeks following the Tonic incident.
generally, and ‘experts’ in particular, have made sense of the bikie problem and the Tonic shooting during the research period. In addressing this issue, only the bikie newspaper corpus is used to identify particular types of discourse themes (orientation, image, causation and solution themes), as established by Cohen (2002), to gain a rich understanding of the nature of the public discourse in this area. Because there are few moral panic studies that explicate their method of content and discourse analysis or the specific decisions they make in counting the quantity of discourse themes (with the exception of, for example, Bonn 2010), this thesis has devised its own approach. In line with the conventions of content analysis, bikie newspaper texts are treated as individual 41
units of study; so where a text clearly exemplifies a specific type of discourse theme (such as orientation, image, causation ad/or solution themes) it is counted as one unit in the calculation. The actual words exemplifying the type of discourse theme are then grouped into similar subthemes (for example, all words, phrases and sentences that exhibit war-related language are grouped together) under a particular type (such as an orientation theme). As per discourse analysis, the meanings and uses of these specific words, phrases and sentences are then analysed in their rightful context of the text, and are thus critically examined in Chapter 4. However, only the two most popular subthemes of each type of discourse theme are analysed due to word limit constraints. Further, each subtheme identified in each type of discursive theme, the results are displayed in stacked graphs to show the number and content of bikie newspaper texts, which is somewhat similar to what Veno and van den Eynde did (2007, pp. 495, 501– 3).
2.3.3
Chapter 5
The third subsidiary research question explores how the state and its apparatuses responded to the bikie problem, particularly their enactment of various social controls. While a range of texts are used to provide contextual insight and evidence for the analysis, the ‘remedies’ for the bikie problem are identified through sources such as police media releases, bikie newspaper texts, and Hansard records from the research period; and from academic texts, official reports, and the like. In other words, the method used to uncover these tactics was via qualitative means, with an emphasis on a qualitative analysis of the data.
2.4
Ethical Considerations
Considering that the research is document based rather than working with human subjects there are no significant ethical issues to be considered. The only ethical issues, relate to the ethical questions posed to social scientists and researchers in Becker’s famous article ‘Whose side are we on?’ (1967). Although he focuses primarily on issues surrounding objectivity and perceptions of bias in research, his work encourages researchers to question in whose interests and for whose benefit their research is being 42
conducted (Becker 1967). Given that this thesis can be characterised generally as a study of oppression and its social legitimisation, it can be seen as useful to agents of social control, such as police and governments. While researchers do not hold a monopoly over the use or interpretation of their work in practical scenarios by others, it is important that I express that this research is intended to be what Wright calls ‘emancipatory knowledge’ (2010).
2.5
Conclusion
As Hardy et al. correctly observe, a ‘clear exposition of the methods used to arrive at a particular interpretation is a hallmark of good research’ (2004, p. 20). This chapter has explained that this research adopts a combination of quantitative and qualitative methodological approaches, notably in the form of content and discourse analysis, which can be used effectively to complement one another (Hardy et al. 2004, p. 20). Arguably, many moral panic researchers use content and/or discourse analysis in their own research, least not of all Cohen in his seminal work (2002). Further, a broad range of documentary sources are used, comprising primary, secondary and tertiary sources; but newspaper texts published in the state editions of The Advertiser and Sunday Mail during the research period are the primary sources examined. This focus on print media sources was chosen because this research is particularly concerned with popular representations and public discourse, of which the press is a good example, as the ‘mass media are the primary source of the public’s knowledge about deviance and social problems’ (Cohen 2002, p. xxiii). While discussion of the methodologies undertaken by researchers in moral panic research is marginal, this thesis has sought to make clear the fundamental methods and assumptions that underpin the research. Doing so enables understanding of the research method, which in turn provides insight into how the researcher arrived at the conclusions presented in this thesis.
43
CHAPTER 3: RE-ENTER THE BIKIE FOLK DEVIL
3.0
Introduction
Since the bikie emerged as a folk devil in America through events such as the 1947 ‘Hollister Riot’, and in Australia through incidents such as the shootout at Port Gawler in 1974, this figure has continued to invoke indignation, curiosity, and anxiety. To some moral entrepreneurs, the outlaw status of bikies is justified on the basis of the deviancy of their activities. Yet the severity significance of the threat posed by bikies is a matter of debate. The accuracy of the portrayal of the Tonic episode is the focus of this chapter. It asks whether the so-called threat of the ‘bikie problem’ broadly, and the Tonic incident specifically, has been exaggerated, sensationalised or distorted, particularly in the press.
The question of whether bikies were demonised during the research period, particularly as part of the initial reaction to the Tonic event, is explored in the three sections of this chapter. The chapter begins with an analysis of the bikie problem during the research period, by applying the elements (concern, hostility, consensus and disproportionality) of moral panic that Goode and Ben-Yehuda identified (1994). The second section of the chapter specifically looks at the ‘facts’ of the Tonic incident, and examines whether there was particular social concern expressed in its aftermath. The third section interrogates the initial social reaction to the Tonic incident for evidence of exaggeration, distortion and prediction. This constitutes what Cohen refers to as the media’s ‘inventory’ (2002, Chapter 3), which provides the foundation of subsequent aspects of the social response following the Tonic incident. Broadly, this chapter is the equivalent of Cohen’s (2002) Chapter 3 (‘The Inventory’), and presents evidence relevant to Goode and Ben-Yehuda’s conceptualisation of moral panic, particularly the elements of concern, hostility, consensus and disproportionality (1994). 44
3.1
The ‘Bikie Problem’
Continuing on from the brief overview of the relevant background and context in regards to bikies presented in the Introduction of this thesis, this section reviews the bikie problem as it was represented and reacted to during the research period. In doing so, the purpose is to provide insight into the nature and significance of the reaction. The analysis suggests that the bikie problem was seen as a serious crime ‘threat’ (particularly in SA), as they were considered to be a ‘new Mafia’ or ‘the world’s biggest criminal empire’ (Coulthart & McNab 2011). Contrary to this, the Australian Crime Commission (ACC) states that:
[w]hile they [bikies] have become one of the more identifiable and high profile groups in Australia’s organised crime landscape, OMCGs [outlaw motorcycle gangs] are not typical of the majority of organised crime entities in Australia and their members do not pose more or less of an organised crime threat than many other groups and individuals. (ACC 2011)
Despite this, bikies are still considered by the SA Government to ‘present the most serious threat to South Australia out of any organised crime groups due to their impacts across all levels of crime’ (Government of SA 2008, p. 6). This section asks the question: is the threat posed by bikies exaggerated or distorted? To answer this, this section explores the following in the context of the research period: the nature of this perceived threat; the degree of social concern over the bikie problem; the nature of antibikie hostility, particularly whether or not it was expressed in moral terms; the extent to which there was consensus about the threat posed by bikies; and a critique of the socalled threat. However, before analysing the social reaction to the bikie problem, this section first considers the nature of the purported threat.
3.1.1
What’s ‘Wrong’ with Bikies?
Many researchers and law enforcement organisations have articulated the threat of bikies in similar ways. In one sense, the purported threat is conceived as part of the 45
general ‘crime problem’, enacted through the commission of minor offences such as traffic offences. In another sense, the threat is seen as being more serious criminal activity, such as bar fights. However, in a more extreme sense, the threat is conceived as bikies being significant players in serious organised crime, such as money laundering, ‘terrorism’, and drug production, trafficking and selling. While at times there have undoubtedly been some bikies, from some clubs, in some countries that have exemplified these three levels of crime threat, it is more the second and third interpretations of the threat that sustain the concern of control agents and moral entrepreneurs in contemporary times. However, the question that is typically neglected when populations become constructed as social problems is: why are they constructed as ‘bad’?
Many ‘experts’ argue the threat that bikies pose with reference to statistics and figures. This is problematic. For instance, Ayling refers to statistics from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, stating that ‘[t]ransnational organised crime currently has an estimated turnover of USD870 billion, compared to 1.5% of global GDP [gross domestic product] …, a figure which does not even encompass the profits made by organised crime groups’ (2013a, p. 1). In a similar fashion, the ACC has estimated the ‘cost’ of organised crime to Australia at AUD$10–15 billion annually (ACC 2011). In the absence of specific figures on the crime-related costs generated by bikies specifically, some experts suggest high rates of organised ‘bikie crime’ by providing debatable speculations on the number of gang members in a specific jurisdiction (see, for example, Ayling 2011, p. 250). Others have also tried, unconvincingly, to calculate the allegedly low proportion of bikie crime among crime in general (see, for example, Wilson 2011; Wilson, cited in United Motorcycle Council [UMC] 2009; Veno & Gannon 2009, pp. 171–2; Veno & van den Eynde 2007, p. 2). Despite this use of statistics and figures, it is not easy to quantify the cost of serious organised bikie crime given that organised crime is generally difficult for authorities to detect.
Quantifiable methods of calculation aside, others articulate the bikie threat in qualitative terms. Yet this is also problematic. Barker (2007) and Coulthart and McNab 46
(2011) have considered the threat posed by bikies. Barker argued that the threat is a combination of ‘individual criminal acts, group criminal acts, and club- or chaptersponsored/condoned criminal acts ranging from assaults and murder to drug manufacturing and trafficking’ (2007, p. 8). Coulthart and McNab (2011) discussed the threat in more blatant terms – as serious, transnational, organised crime. They described serious ‘bikie crimes’, such as assassination attempts, bombings, drug manufacturing, trafficking and dealing, murder, gun running, extortion, money laundering, and fraud, among others (2011). However, what limits both of these sources, particularly that of Coulthart and McNab (2011), is their propensity to homogenise bikies and MCs, thus blurring the difference between actual bikie members and ‘associates’; 8 and their reliance on (the small number of) bikie cases that have resulted in convictions. In addition to these general articulations of the bikie threat, there are others specific to SA, which were communicated during the research period (see subsections 3.1.3 and 3.1.3). While the typical articulations of the bikie problem are thus limited, the question to be explored here is whether such representations are reflected in social concern, particularly in to the context of SA during the research period.
3.1.2
Social Concern over the Bikie ‘Threat’
As pointed out in the Introduction, the Tonic incident is one of many episodes that collectively make up the ongoing bikie problem, which has spanned over 65 years, across many countries. Given the duration of this so-called problem, it is notable that social concern and political will to ‘manage’ it have been inconsistent (see, for example, Small & Gilling 2011; Coulthart & McNab 2011). In this regard, Australia, specifically SA, is no exception.
8
There are three types of people that are referred to as ‘associates’ by bikies in the bikie world. One is the
‘friend of the club’, who associates with bikies, but has no intention of becoming a member of a MC (Barker 2007, p. 67). Similar to the friend of the club type, the ‘hangaround’ is a person who aspires to be a bikie and goes to places where they can associate with bikies (such as bikie bars), usually as part of an assessment period for potential members (Veno and Gannon 2009, p. 258; Barker 2007, p. 67). The other is the ‘nom’, who is a prospective bikie member, who usually ‘undergoes a rigorous six-month to twoyear period of education and socialisation before becoming a full-patched member’ (Veno and Gannon 2009, p. 259). The nom is also known as a ‘striker’, a ‘prospect’ or ‘probate’ (Barker 2007, pp. 68–9).
47
While researchers ought to be cautious in presuming that the degree of media concern is reflective of the degree of social concern in relation to a problem (Ungar 2001, p. 279), the media is undoubtedly an influential, accessible and relatively fast reacting institution. In light of this, concern, as Cohen (2002, p. xxii) and Goode and Ben-Yehuda argue (1994, p. 33), may manifest in the form of media attention. The data shown in Figures 6 and 7 suggests that, to a certain degree, levels of social concern may be correlative and reflected in media coverage of the bikie problem, specifically that the social concern – suggested by media concern – has been relatively slight over the past 15 years. These figures also reveal that, despite a rise in the number of published bikierelated articles following 2006, which is suggestive of heightened media and/or social concern, the degree of concern has been inconsistent since 1998.
3.1.3
Anti-Bikie Hostility
During the research period, it was apparent that, collectively, bikies were being accused of being embroiled in almost every vice in SA society. They were accused of extortion and blackmail (see, for example, Hunt 2007j), particularly in relation to nightclub owners and people who took out short-term loans from small money-lending companies (see, for example, Kyriacou 2007c; Hunt 2007h; Hunt 2007i); described as not ‘fit and proper persons’ to run a business (‘Club directors “unfit” for license’ 2007); insinuated to be involved in obstructing the course of justice, namely threatening or intimidating witnesses (Harrison, cited in Hunt 2007j); ‘infiltrat[ing] … illegal and legitimate enterprises and industries … including short-term money lending, nightclubs and transport’ for criminal purposes (Harrison, cited in Riches 2007d); recruiting street gangs as foot soldiers for street crime, drug manufacturing and distribution, extortion, violent home invasions, armed robberies, and ram-raids (Riches 2007d; James & Watson 2008, p. 1); said to be ‘people who are basically drug dealers and manufacturers and who are involved in a range of violent crimes’ (Rann, cited in James 2007b); claimed to be involved in illicit wildlife trade (Peddie 2007); accused of ‘threaten[ing] the safety of not only innocent bystanders, but also the responding front-line [police] officers’ (Carroll, cited in James et al. 2008b); and alleged to have ‘infiltrated’ Australia’s ports (Moor 2008).
48
49
4
Sunday Mail
32
74 7
42 13
66 14
76 20
81 38
39
47
54
49
89
60
146
64
146
72
301
52
150
43
143
75
235
* As this graphs is for estimative purposes only, NewsBank was used over other databases for populating more accurate results.
2012 using results populated by NewsBank.
Figure 6: Rate of bikie-related newspaper texts published by the Sunday Mail and The Advertiser between 16 January 1998 and
36
16 Jan - 31 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Dec 1998
The Advertiser
380 360 340 320 300 280 260 240 220 200 180 160 140 120 100 80 60 40 20 0
50
0.03
Sunday Mail 0.01
0.05
2000
0.01
0.07
2001
0.01
0.08
2002
0.02
0.08
2003
0.04
0.04
2004
0.05
0.05
2005
0.05
0.09
2006
0.06
0.14
2007
0.06
0.15
2008
0.08
0.32
2009
0.06
0.16
2010
0.05
0.16
2011
0.08
0.26
2012
** All calculations have been rounded
* As this graphs is for estimative purposes only, NewsBank was used over other databases for populating more accurate results.
and 2012 using results populated by NewsBank.
Figure 7: Estimated proportion (%) of bikie-related texts published by The Advertiser and Sunday Mail between 18 January 1998
0
0.08
16 Jan - 31 1999 Dec 1998
The Advertiser 0.04
0.5 0.45 0.4 0.35 0.3 0.25 0.2 0.15 0.1 0.05 0
To many of the moral entrepreneurs, bikies thus represented the antithesis of a ‘safe’ and ‘ordered’ society because of the ‘problems’ they embodied. Such hostility, which is seen as justified by moral entrepreneurs, normalises antagonistic public discourse. References to bikies as ‘gangs’, ‘outlaws’, ‘criminals’ and ‘terrorists’ (explored further later in this chapter and the next) exemplify this anti-bikie hostility. Combative phrases like ‘spearhead[ing] a renewed crackdown against gangs’ (Hunt 2007g), ‘aimed at smashing bikie gangs’ (Hunt 2007g), ‘War on bikies’ (Riches 2007d), and ‘[p]olice vow to wipe out bikies’ (James 2007a) are also exemplary of the hostile public discourse aimed at bikies. However, the most notable and influential examples of such rhetoric are those that come from the moral entrepreneurs, such as political leaders (Bonn 2010). Holloway, for instance, referred to the ‘problem’ as ‘the menace of bikie gang[s]’ (Holloway, cited in Hunt 2007i) and as a ‘war against bikies’ (Holloway, cited in Riches 2007d). On another occasion, he also declared the government’s ‘desire to make life as tough as possible for these criminal bikie gangs’ (Holloway, cited in Hunt 2007l, p. 9). Atkinson ‘vowed to bulldoze bikie fortresses and … pursue the matter “as far as necessary”’ (Atkinson, cited in ‘Court appeal: bikie fortress remains in place’ 2007). Further, Bray made clear that the ‘charter’ of the Crime Gang Task Force (CGTF) was ‘to quell the bikie gangs’ (Bray, cited in James 2008a, p. 48). Harrison declared his support for the police wanting ‘to make [SA] a hostile environment for outlaw motorcycle clubs and their associates’ (Harrison, cited in James 2007b). Additionally, Hamilton-Smith announced that ‘We don’t need another outlaw motorcycle gang setting up in Adelaide suburbs’ (Hamilton-Smith, cited in Hunt 2007l). Similarly, Horne, in referring to bikies, said that ‘hotels were for the enjoyment of the community not for organised criminal behaviour’ (Horne, cited in James 2008d). Furthermore, Hyde stated that ‘[the] only way to deal with some of them [bikies] is to take them out of circulation’ (Hyde, cited in James 2008a, p. 49). Likewise, Premier Rann proclaimed: ‘[we will] continue to put pressure on outlaw motorcycle gangs’ (Rann, cited in James 2007a). And in a particularly harsh comment, Pallaras declared that ‘bikie gangs should be “eradicated” and “destroyed”’ (Pallaras, cited in Vaughan 2008a). These quotes illustrate the sort of hostile discourse espoused by the moral entrepreneurs and published by The Advertiser and Sunday Mail between 3 June 2007 and 15 May 2008.
51
While these quotes demonstrate that moral entrepreneurs were engaged in discourses that were hostile towards bikies, moral entrepreneurs did not demonstrate moral indignation per se. This is important to note because self-righteous moral outrage is one of the key components of the moral enterprise that occurs during moral panics (see subsection 1.2.1). In terms of considering moralisation more broadly, however, what is evident in the quotes presented above is the very clear stigmatisation of a collective of people (bikies) and their perceived deviant behaviours (bikie crimes). This process of stigmatisation is done through discourses of crime by constructing a dichotomy between ‘good’ and ‘bad’ citizens, based on a simplistic differentiation provided in law between legal and illegal behaviours. (Having said this, it should be noted that such stigmatisation is not exclusively ‘top-down’, but can also be embraced at times by bikies (see subsection 3.3.3.1).) This is what Noble means when he states that ‘people experience social order as moral order’ (Noble 2012, p. 217).
3.1.4
A United Front
In line with Goode and Ben-Yehuda (1994), Cohen (2002, p. xxii) highlights that one of the central components of a moral panic is consensus. He does not refer to consensus in a literal sense, but rather as ‘a widespread agreement (not necessarily total) that the threat exists, is serious and that “something should be done”’ (Cohen 2002, p. xxii). However, consensus in the media is broader than widespread agreement that the threat exists. Fowler explained that when consensus is expressed in discourse, it ‘assumes, and in times of crisis actually affirms, that within the group, there is no difference or disunity in the interests and values of any of the population, or of any institution’ (Fowler 1991, p. 49). Consensus can therefore be understood as homogeneity, which was a characteristic evident in the research period in relation to the bikie problem.
Yet what was missing during the research period was widespread consensus among moral entrepreneurs on how the bikie problem should be dealt with (see section 4.3). Despite this, all moral entrepreneurs did agree that action to address the bikie problem was needed. The belief that bikies are worthy targets for social control is a position shared within all of the literature consulted for this research (see, for example, 52
ACC 2011; Coulthart & McNab 2011; Small & Gilling 2011; Barker 2007), even those texts that are considered to be on the more ‘critical’ end of the spectrum (see, for example, Veno & Gannon 2009; Shand 2011; Ayling 2011). While they all describe crimes such as murder, money laundering, extortion, bombing, corruption of public officials, and traffic violations, they disagree on the mode by which social control ought to be administered. For instance, Ayling (2013a) argues against harsh ‘anti-bikie’ (that is, anti-association) laws, preferring more ‘soft control’ tactics such as targeting the finances and assets of bikies. In contrast, while agreeing that some bikies pose a ‘problem’ and ought to be controlled, Veno and Gannon (2009; see also Veno 2007) argue in favour of an approach that allows bikies to self-police. The texts reflect the consensus, which has existed over the years, in regards to the bikie problem – that is, that there are criminal elements in MCs that pose a problem and that they are deserving of social control. This consensus was particularly evident during the research period.
With the wide-ranging negative portrayal of bikies, a consensus similar to that evident in bikie texts broadly was also present within bikie newspaper texts. The general consensus was that bikies represent a ‘criminal problem’. As mentioned earlier, they were portrayed and stigmatised as being involved in a range of illegal and deviant activities. (For further discussion on the criminal bikie typecast, see subsection 3.3.3.4.) In addition to the consensus that bikies were a criminal problem, it was also widely agreed that ‘something must be done’ about the problem. This consensus was shared among politicians, particularly from the two major parties (the state Labor government and the Liberal/National Party state Opposition), the SAPol, the courts, and the press.
Dissent within the major parties, police, judiciary and press may have been present, but it was not publicly expressed. However, as will be discussed in Chapter 5 (see subsection 5.5), there was a degree of grassroots dissent to the consensus, which came from the UMC, however occurred outside of the research period. Moreover, dissent was expressed by parliamentarians outside the two major parties, particularly from Democrats member Sandra Kanck, as discussed in Chapter 4 (see subsection 4.3.3). 53
3.1.5
A Disproportionate Reaction?
In addition to the difference of opinion on how bikies ought to be controlled, experts differ on the prevalence of bikie criminality. Some refuse to speculate on the extent of bikie crime, while there is disagreement among those who do speculate. The Parliamentary Joint Committee on the ACC’s ‘Inquiry into the legislative arrangements to outlaw serious organised crime groups’ conceded that the cost of organised crime in Australia was difficult to calculate (2009, p. 18), presumably because organised crime is usually discovered by police (rather than reported by members of the public, for example).
Despite the difficulty in putting a reliable figure on the cost of bikie crime, some researchers have been more ambitious in their attempts to produce such data, though they cannot escape the limitations of such attempts. For instance, to inform their conclusion that bikie criminality is high, Coulthart and McNab (2011) rely on police arrest and/or charge data, but this method is problematic as police arrest data might be influenced by operational considerations and/or political agendas (Veno & van den Eynde 2008, p. 9). Barker’s (2007) approach is somewhat more effective, in that he relies on data on successful prosecutions, although this is also problematic as it is the product of police activity. Small and Gilling’s research (2011) is the most reliable, as they generally rely on cases that have led to convictions,9 which is something bikie texts rarely do.
In light of the above limitations, Veno and van den Eynde stated that the most reliable data to reflect the incidence and prevalence of bikie crime would come from court statistics (2008, p. 9). However, as they acknowledge, no such data exists in Australia (Veno & van den Eynde 2008, p. 9). In their own work, Veno and van den Eynde rightly use qualitative data in addition to statistics (Veno & van den Eynde 2008, 9
This is not to say that trial, plea bargains or entered guilty pleas are methods void of issues. However, in
probability terms, these are the better methods for establishing the ‘facts’ of matters in adversarial legal systems.
54
pp. 9–10). By quoting the Editor of The Advertiser, Melvin Mansell, Veno and van den Eynde question the idea that bikies are serious criminals:
major crime involving the clubs is a rarity in … (the) courts. Government and police tell you that bikie clubs are very heavily involved in organized crime, particularly illegal drugs like amphetamines and marijuana. Conversely what you are seeing is that there does not appear to be any empirical evidence (through the courts for example) of successful prosecutions that demonstrates this is indeed the case. (Mansell, cited in Veno & van den Eynde 2007, p. 502; 2008, pp. 9–10)
A whole range of factors, such as evidentiary matters, budgetary constraints and plea deals, affect the likelihood of a matter attracting a conviction. Regardless, more persuasive qualitative data demonstrates the dubious link between bikies and serious organised crime.
The Parliamentary Joint Committee on the ACC (2009) heard submissions from a number of representatives of state police forces, who agreed that bikie crime was a significant threat, with the exception of Victoria. Victoria Police considered the outlawing of MCs to be a ‘disproportionate’ reaction (Parliamentary Joint Committee on the ACC 2009, p. 83; see also, p. 90). Superintendent Paul Hollowood of Victoria Police observed that it was ‘generally individuals within the clubs who are involved in organised crime as opposed to the whole club, or groups within the club, conspiring to commit organised criminal offences’ (cited in Parliamentary Joint Committee on the ACC 2009, p. 109). Further, he made clear his scepticism about the purported central role played by MCs in serious organised crime in Victoria (Hollowood, cited in Parliamentary Joint Committee on the ACC 2009, pp. 25–6). In contrast to the perception that bikies are a ‘modern day mafia’, he pointed to notorious criminals like Tony Mokbel to indicate the sort of organised criminals that are of real concern (Hollowood, cited in Parliamentary Joint Committee on the ACC, p. 25). Similarly, the writer and journalist Adam Shand refers to notorious underworld kingpins like Carl Williams and the Moran family, suggesting that bikies are ‘foot soldiers’ at best, but generally regarded as ‘scroungers’ (2011, p. 71). 55
In addition to the points made by Hollowood and Shand, then SAPol Commissioner Mal Hyde admitted that the negative representation of bikies as serious organised criminals was overblown. During an interview with Associate Professor David Baker, Hyde seemingly contradicted the seriousness assigned to bikie crime by SAPol and the Rann government:
There is a great deal of public concern that may not necessarily match the serious crime that they [bikies] are committing. … In terms of bikies, we actually don’t have a major problem here in the sense that it exceeds the problem in other states and territories. (Hyde, cited in Baker 2011, p. 15)
Hyde’s comments about bikies in SA are in stark contrast with the claim that bikies ‘present the most serious threat to [SA] out of any organised crime groups’ (Government of SA 2008, p. 6).
While in quantifiable terms the reportage of the Tonic incident was not exaggerated (as will be discussed in subsection 3.3.1.2), it is the case that the bikie problem, as part of the ‘crime problem’ more broadly, was exaggerated. Typical of tabloid media such as The Advertiser and Sunday Mail, crime reporting is a staple of the medium. However, as many have argued, the decision over what is deemed to be ‘news’ and worthy of being reported is an ideological one (see, for example, Welch et al. 1997; 1998). For example, Michael Welch, Melissa Fenwick and Meredith Roberts’ analysis of ideology as reflected in quotes from experts presented in feature newspaper articles on crime makes the point that crime news is largely manufactured by political leaders and law enforcement officials. These authors state:
The media bias towards street crime (especially offenses committed by individuals) to the exclusion of white-collar, corporate, governmental[,] military and political crime (especially offenses committed by groups and organizations), is abundantly evident. [Welch et al. 1998, p. 222] … This bias toward street crime suggests that the topics selected for these newspaper feature 56
articles are ideologically filtered or screened. Such a distortion indicates a propaganda technique by which the media manage information through the editorial process; consequently, street crime emerges as the preferred construction of crime. [Welch et al. 1998, pp. 222-3] … A principal aspect of the dominant ideology is … that street offenses are the most costly, most dangerous, and most threatening form of crime. (Welch et al. 1998, p. 223)
Further, Shand (2011) provides insightful observations as a journalist on how the quality of ‘news’ published by The Advertiser is the result of ideological and professional factors, similar to Welch et al.’s argument (1998). Writing on the skewed representation of bikies and the bikie problem, Shand illustrates that the reproduction of ideology through news is most effectively carried out when there is a corporate media monopoly (2011, pp. 54–5).
Adelaide, a city of 1.4 million people, now effectively had only one newspaper, the Advertiser, owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation. The city had been the cradle of Murdoch’s global expansion from the 1950s. Young Rupert originally inherited ownership of the News, an afternoon tabloid that over many decades had competed hard with the ’Tiser [The Advertiser], but by 2005, the News had been gone a dozen years and Murdoch now owned the ’Tiser. While investigative journalism had flourished in the pluralistic media markets of Sydney and Melbourne, Adelaide’s media clique remained a stodgy defender of the status quo. Any journalist of an independent bent risked losing patronage and access to government and the big end of town. If you wanted that kind of career, there was always Melbourne and Sydney. So most of the media pack toed the party line, and even the most egregious beat-ups went unchallenged. (Shand 2011, pp. 54–5, emphasis in original)
Given the remarks of former SAPol Commissioner Hyde, the underworld observations of journalist Shand, and the reflections made by The Advertiser Editor Mansell, it is arguable that bikies were not as serious a problem as had been claimed during Premier Rann’s leadership. This is not to say that all bikies/clubs/chapters are law abiding, as some certainly exist for the prime purpose of executing serious crime (see, for example, Veno & Grannon 2009, Chapter 17). As the evidence indicates, it is 57
incorrect to suggest that bikies comprise a ‘new Mafia’ or occupy the top of the serious organised crime chain in Australia. Instead, it appears that the disproportionate attention that bikies have received has been ideologically based, which, by accident or design, has resulted in the neglect of what are arguably more serious crimes: the crimes of the powerful.
3.2
The Tonic Episode
Moving from a discussion of the bikie problem in general, this chapter now turns to the specific bikie episode that forms the case study in this thesis: the Tonic incident. This section reconstructs a narrative of the events that occurred at Tonic from primary and secondary police sources. What becomes apparent is that, while the thesis draws on the police account of the Tonic incident (see Chapter 2), this account, like other accounts, was not free of inconsistency and contradiction. However, substantiating police accounts by cross-reference with other sources proved impossible given the general culture of secrecy surrounding MCs, particularly in terms of their interaction with the media, and the inaccessibility of court documents.10 Nonetheless, the account provided below is a blueprint for what occurred on 2 June 2007 outside Tonic nightclub. This section also analyses the concern that followed the Tonic incident.
3.2.1
A Police-Based Narrative of the Tonic Incident
At approximately 4:30am on Saturday 2 June 2007, SAPol attended Adelaide’s Light Square following an incident that took place either outside or inside the Tonic nightclub.11 Four men were ‘taken to the Royal Adelaide Hospital where they were
10
In a conversation the researcher had with a clerk of the Supreme Court of SA, the clerk suggested that
this inaccessibility might be because bikie-related cases are generally subject to court suppression orders by default for the protection of the identity of witnesses and victims involved. Further, in a conversation the researcher had with Veno, he stated that the court documents regarding the Tonic incident specifically might not be accessible because the police or prosecution’s case broke down. The researcher has been unable to confirm this or the reason for the alleged failure of this case. 11
While some media releases state that it occurred ‘at’ the nightclub and others ‘outside’ the nightclub, it
is most likely that both phrases were used interchangeably to refer to the same location – outside. Further
58
treated for individual gunshot wounds and other injuries’ (SAPol 2007a). Two remained in a ‘serious condition’ two days following the incident, while the other two had ‘been discharged with minor injuries’ (SAPol 2007b). It was stated by SAPol that the injured men were ‘linked’ to the Rebels MC (SAPol 2007a; 2007b). Police believed that ‘up to 10 [gun] shots were fired during the incident’ (SAPol 2007b). The occurrence was declared a ‘Major Crime’12 (SAPol 2007a).
Further, police believed that the shooting was not a ‘random attack’ (SAPol 2007b). The Assistant Commissioner of Police at the time, Tony Harrison, said that the ‘shooting may have been triggered by an “incident” inside Tonic two hours earlier, [and] possibly involving the same people’ (Kyriacou et al. 2007a, p. 7). The (then) Deputy Commissioner, Gary Burns (now Commissioner of SAPol), stated that SAPol was looking for four people, and suggested that the offenders or the attack generally may have been linked to the Finks MC (Burns, cited in Riches 2007c). Burns also stated that the incident was not ‘part of the general turf warfare that these gangs are involved in’ (Burns, cited in Riches 2007c). Later, a number of the persons of interest were said by Harrison to be ‘linked to so-called street gangs’ (cited in Hunt 2007g).
3.2.2
Social Concern Following the Tonic Episode
While there was concern in the days following the Tonic incident, as indicated by published newspaper and police texts, the level of concern rose over time in the subsequent days. As The Advertiser’s and Sunday Mail’s concern over the bikie
supporting this idea are the comments reportedly made by Harrison: ‘At this time we believe the shots were fired outside, possibly on the footpath area in front of Tonic nightclub’ (Kyriacou et al. 2007a, p. 7). 12
In SA, suspected crimes such as murder, kidnapping, product contamination, extortion and others
deemed to be of ‘grave concern to the community’ are designated as a ‘Major Crime’. The specialist SAPol unit, the Major Crime Investigation Section (MCIS), assists in the investigation and management of cases designated as a ‘Major Crime’, which is referred to them from the State Tasking Co-ordination Group (SAPol 2011). While the investigation and management of ‘Major Crime’ cases is the MCIS’s central function, this section also holds primary responsibility for the state’s response to investigations relating to ‘terrorist’ incidents and deaths in police custody (SAPol 2011).
59
problem during the past 15 years has been fickle, one of the highest levels of interest in the past five years was seen in the year in which the Tonic incident occurred: 2007 (see Figures 6 and 7). Figure 8 show how the published bikie texts in The Advertiser and Sunday Mail, which are suggestive of social concern, were spread throughout the research period. Predictably, the month in which the highest number of such texts were published was in the June 2007 period – the month of the Tonic incident.
3.3
The Inventory
While there was relatively little media attention, and seemingly likewise public interest, in the bikie problem immediately following the Tonic incident, there was still an inaccurate media representation of the Tonic incident and bikies. This subsection explores how the media presented the incident and bikies, and specifically identifies where exaggeration, distortion, prediction and stereotyping are evident. This aspect of social reaction is termed the ‘inventory’ within Cohen’s conceptualisation of moral panic (2002).
The inventory stage is the foundational stage within Cohen’s moral panic sequence (2002). This is because all later stages of the social reaction, particularly the rescue and remedy phase, are shaped by it. However, the inventory can vary, depending on whether what is being examined is an instance of a problem or a problem in its totality. Since this thesis examines an instance of a longstanding problem, the media’s inventory in response to the Tonic incident is partly unique (as demonstrated in the discussion of exaggeration and distortion below) and partly based on inventories that have been communicated in the aftermath of previous bikie-related episodes (drawing on the stereotypes covered in subsection 3.3.3).
3.3.1
Exaggeration and Distortion
Writing on miscarriages of justice in serious Australian criminal cases, criminology Professor Paul Wilson identifies five influential factors (1991). One is the media, whose influence is particularly marked when it conducts campaigns demanding swift action on 60
61
23
Sunday Mail 16
15
Jul-07 4
9 3
6
Aug-07 Sep-07 8
12
Oct-07 5
7
1
7
Nov-07 Dec-07
1
14
Jan-08
4
22
7
14
Feb-08 Mar-08
0
6
Apr-08
6
22
1 - 15 May 08
period (3 June 2007 - 15 May 2008).
Figure 8: Monthly distribution of bikie-related newspaper texts published in The Advertiser and Sunday Mail during the research
54
3 - 30 Jun 07
The Advertiser
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
a criminal matter, or adopts unfair stereotypes of alleged offenders (Wilson 1991, p. 11). Similarly, as Cohen observed in his study (2002), media exaggeration and distortion contribute to the demonisation of marginalised individuals and the negative reputation that follows.
Exaggeration and distortion are explored in this subsection, specifically as evident in the public narratives of the Tonic incident, the volume of reporting of the incident in The Advertiser and Sunday Mail, and the exaggeration in media reports about the episode.
3.3.1.1 Issues in the Public Accounts of the Tonic Episode Just as formulating an accurate, reliable and detailed narrative of the Tonic incident proved almost impossible, blatant examples of distortion and misreporting were discovered in the media’s reportage on the incident. Indeed, an overwhelming majority of sources relating to the Tonic incident were found to contain inconsistencies about both minor and major facts. For instance, many of the articles on the Tonic incident printed in The Advertiser and Sunday Mail contradicted police media releases, many of the newspaper reports contradicted each other, and in some cases, even newspaper articles written by the same author were conflicting. Yet because the examples of exaggeration and (deliberate) distortion were not obvious, this subsection aims only to briefly mention the issues.
As in the work of Cohen, this thesis identifies a number of points of contention in relation to the reporting of the Tonic incident. Eight such areas of contention relating to the publicly accessible narratives of the Tonic incident remain unresolved. These eight issues concern: (1) the number of victims; (2) the identity of the victims; (3) the victims’ MC affiliations and positions; (4) the nature of the victims’ injuries and recovery; (5) the number of shots fired by the offenders, where they were fired, and at what time; (6) the identity and number of the offenders; (7) the exact location and time of the incident; and (8) the immediate and/or broader context in which the incident took place. While some of these matters may seem insignificant, inconsistency even in the 62
account of trivial details raises concerns over the accuracy of the more important facts. Collectively, these eight issues challenge any notion that there is a single, official, and accurate account of the Tonic incident.
3.3.1.2 Volume of Reporting Cohen’s (2002) study illustrates that the over-reporting of a problem or an episode related to a problem can lead to exaggerated or distorted perceptions of it. The frequency with which a problem or related episode is reported can distort public understanding of the prevalence or importance of it (Gibbon et al. 2005). However, Cohen (2002) and others, such as Goode and Ben-Yehuda (1994), offer little to no guidance on what objectively constitutes ‘over-reporting’. While this could be criticised as a limitation of Cohen’s scholarship, it can also be seen as a strength of the concept of moral panic, through its inherent flexibility (Critcher 2009).
To provide the greatest insight into the bikie newspaper dataset from during the research period, two quantitative methods are used to assess the data for over-reporting. The first takes the number of newspapers as the unit of calculation, while the second uses newspaper text items as the unit of calculation. As Tables 2 and 3 illustrate, the results consistently indicate that the Tonic incident was reported on little by The Advertiser and Sunday Mail. Indeed, the first method reveals, as seen in Table 2, that, overall, the event was not reported in the newspapers much. The shooting featured in 11 out of 348 (or 3.16 per cent) newspapers from the research period. Similar low figures exist for each of the two newspaper titles (see Table 3). In addition, the second method – the results of which are documented in Table 2 – shows that of the 96,588 newspaper text items published during the research period, nine (0.01 per cent) were texts about the Tonic incident published during the initial reaction stage and 16 (0.02 per cent) were published during the research period. Further, when the variable is changed to the individual newspaper titles, as Table 3 shows, the results are similar. These findings demonstrate that the Tonic event did not feature prominently in either The Advertiser or the Sunday Mail during the research period, both in terms of the volume of newspaper texts published and in terms of the proportion of newspapers. What this means is that
63
Table 2: Proportion of bikie-related and Tonic-related newspaper editions and newspaper texts published in The Advertiser and Sunday Mail during the research period (3 June 2007 - 15 May 2008) and the initial reaction period (3 8 June 2007). The Advertiser
Sunday Mail
The Advertiser & Sunday Mail
Number of newspaper
293
55
348
editions published during the
(84.20%)
(15.80%)
(100%)
Proportion of newspaper
113/293
30/55
143/348
editions published during the
(38.57%)
(54.55%)
(41.09%)
Proportion of newspaper
9/293
2/55
11/348
editions published during the
(3.07%)
(3.64%)
(3.16%)
Proportion of newspaper
4/293
2/55
6/348
editions published during the
(1.37%)
(3.64%)
(1.72%)
Proportion of newspaper
9/113
2/30
11/143
editions published during the
(7.96%)
(6.67%)
(7.69%)
research period
research period containing bikie-related texts
research period containing Tonic-related texts
initial reaction period containing Tonic-related texts
research period containing 64
Tonic-related texts to the proportion containing bikierelated texts
Proportion of newspaper
5/113
1/30
6/143
editions published during the
(4.42%)
(3.33%)
(4.20%)
Proportion of newspaper
3/5
1/1
4/143
editions published during the
(60%)
(100%)
(2.80%)
initial reaction period containing bikie-related texts
initial reaction period containing Tonic-related texts
* All percentage calculations have been rounded.
65
Table 3: Proportion of bikie-related and Tonic-related newspaper texts to all newspaper texts published in The Advertiser and Sunday Mail during the research period (3 June 2007 - 15 May 2008) and the initial reaction period (3 8 June 2007). The Advertiser
Sunday Mail
The Advertiser & Sunday Mail
Newspaper texts published during the research period
Proportion of newspaper texts published during the research period that are bikie-related to
77,398†
19,190†
96,588†
(80.13%†)
(19.86%†)
(100%†)
198/77,398†
76/19,190†
274/96,588†
(0.26%†)
(0.40%†)
(0.28%†)
8/77,398†
8/19,190†
16/96,588†
(0.01%†)
(0.04%†)
(0.02%†)
6/77,398†
3/19,190†
9/96,588†
(0.01%†)
(0.02%†)
(0.01%†)
8/198
8/76
16/274
the proportion of newspaper texts published during the research period
Proportion of newspaper texts published during the research period that are Tonic-related to the proportion of newspaper texts published during the research period
Proportion of newspaper texts published during the research that are Tonic-related and published during the initial reaction period
Portion of newspaper texts
66
published during the research
(4.04%)
(10.53%)
(5.84%)
22/198
16/76
38/274
(11.11%)
(21.05%)
(13.87%)
6/22
3/16
9/38
(27.27%)
(18.75%)
(23.68%)
1,660†/77,398†
767†/19,190†
2,427†/96,588†
(2.14%†)
(3.10%†)
(2.51%†)
6/1,660†
3/767†
9/2,427†
period that are Tonic-related to the proportion of newspaper texts published during the research period that are bikie-related
Portion of newspaper texts published during the initial reaction period to the proportion of newspaper texts published during the research period that are bikie-related
Portion of newspaper texts published during the initial reaction period that are Tonicrelated to the proportion of newspaper texts published during the research period that are Tonic-related
Proportion of newspaper texts published during the initial reaction period to newspaper texts published during the research period
Portion of newspaper texts
67
published during the initial
(3.61%†)
(0.39%†)
(0.37%†)
reaction period that are Tonicrelated to newspaper texts published during the research period
* Not all percentage totals equal 100 per cent due to rounding. † Data calculated based on results populated by NewsBank. These figures are to be taken as estimations only, as the method of collection entails problems of reliability that are typical to such databases. NewsBank, however, was found to be the most reliable.
68
the quantity of newspaper reportage on the Tonic incident was negligible, but it cannot be conclusively determined if the reporting was dis/proportionate or ‘over/underreported’. (It should be mentioned, however, that different results exist in regards to the extent to which bikies feature in newspaper texts.13)
3.3.1.3 In-text Exaggeration and Distortion As Cohen (2002, pp. 19–20) highlights, another way to identify exaggeration or distortion in the media reporting of a ‘problem’ or episode is by comparing the reportage with the facts of the case. Significant facts might be ‘the number taking part, the number involved in violence and the amount and effects of any damage or violence’ (Cohen 2002, p. 20). In Cohen’s analysis, the distortion took effect primarily through sensationalist headlines, melodramatic tone, and emphasis on certain elements of stories considered to be ‘news’ (2002, p. 20). Given that the present research was unable to identify an official and accurate set of facts in relation to the Tonic incident based on reliable sources, distortion was most evident in the manner in which the event was conveyed to readers.
Newspapers, particularly tabloid ones, report crime events in ways that often exaggerate and distort. Generally, the exaggerations and distortions are intended to capture public interest by provoking an emotional response (Gibbon et al. 2005, p. 274). Exaggeration appeared in the headlines of articles on the Tonic incident in the form of 13
The calculations shown in Tables 1 and 2 suggest findings that are inconsistent to the results regarding
the Tonic event specific. Table 2 reveals that bikies featured in newspapers during the research period at what seems to be at a high rate, both in terms of newspaper editions collectively (39.94 per cent) and individually (The Advertiser – 37.88 per cent; Sunday Mail – 50.90 per cent). In contrast, Table 2 shows that bikies featured in newspaper text items published during the research period at a level that was relatively small, both in terms of the newspaper editions collectively (0.28 per cent) and individually (The Advertiser – 0.24 per cent; Sunday Mail – 0.41 per cent). What these figures suggest, therefore, is that the bikie problem was given a relative amount of exposure in terms of the proportion of newspaper editions containing bikie-related texts during the research period, yet not in terms of the proportion of newspaper text items that were bikie-related published in the same period. This means that, unlike the reporting of the Tonic incident, the broader ‘bikie problem’ may have been prominently featured during the research period.
69
‘war’ and ‘Wild West’ metaphors, and in the presentation of unconfirmed, speculative and contradictory details (such as, that concerning the number of shots, who was involved, and the numbers involved) in confident terms (see, for example, ‘Saturday 4.30am outside a city nightclub’ 2007, Kyriacou et al. 2007a; Riches 2007b; Kyriacou 2007b; ‘CSI Adelaide: shooters brought wild west to town’ 2007; James 2007f; James 2008c). Further, one article on the Tonic incident blurred the distinction between crime reporting and entertainment reporting insofar as it was positioned directly above advertisements for the television broadcasting of the popular American crime show CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (‘CSI Adelaide’ 2007). The article’s title was even inspired by the show: ‘CSI Adelaide’ (2007).
Colourful descriptions, particularly of blood, injuries and bullets, were common in the Tonic-related articles published during the initial reaction period. Quotes such as ‘Bloodied clothing and bullet casing littered the street outside the club as scores of police cordoned off the scene’ (Kyriacou et al. 2007a), ‘a volley of shots was fired’ (Kyriacou 2007a, p. 42), and ‘hit the ground, spilling blood’ (Kyriacou 2007a, p. 42) exemplified such imagery. The episode was also reported through the use of spurious attribution, evident in suggestions that the shooting was ‘linked’ to apparent rivalry between the Rebels and Finks (Riches 2007b). Another example of such spurious attribution was evident in the media’s suggestion of guilt by virtue of the bikie victims’ alleged associates, as well as through prejudicial and ambiguous phrases like ‘known to police’ and ‘bikie-related’ (Kyriacou et al. 2007a, p. 6; Riches 2007b; 2007c).
The exaggerated representation and demonisation of the Rebels bikies – who appear to be the ‘victims’ of the incident – was another variation of distortion identified in the initial Tonic reports, and in some ways one of the more interesting. The most striking example of this was the front page of the Sunday Mail the day after the shooting, on which the headlines read ‘Saturday 4.30am outside a city nightclub. Two gunmen, 10 shots, four bikies wounded – but to one of them and his mates it’s all a bit of a laugh’ (2007). Accompanying this was a picture, captioned: ‘9:23am: Wounded Rebels member Christopher Clemente, in his white hospital gown, jokes with bikie mates outside the RAH [Royal Adelaide Hospital]’ (‘Saturday 4.30am outside a city 70
nightclub’ 2007). Although the picture did not depict men laughing or making jokes, but rather one man half-smiling while looking into the distance, it seems that the Sunday Mail used this image to suggest the inherent deviancy of this ‘class’ of people. The implication here is that people ought not to smile following such an incident – though for how long is unclear – or they will be condemned; that they should not exhibit sorrow, as they might be accused of shedding ‘crocodile tears’; and that they certainly must not appear expressionless, as they could be accused of being ‘emotionless’, ‘cold’ or ‘desensitised’. This predicament facing folk devils is comparable to that which academic Greg Noble has observed with regard to one of the 2002 Bali bombers, Amrozi bin Nurhasyim, who has been forever immortalised as the ‘smiling assassin’ (Noble 2012, p. 224). In drawing attention to the ‘improper’ alleged ‘over’/‘under’ reactions of folk devils – if they can ever provide a reaction that is satisfactory to onlookers – the media presents emotions deemed inappropriate as indicative of their guilt and deviancy.
3.3.2
Prediction
In his study, Cohen identified the heightened prevalence of prediction in the media during scenarios of moral panic. He observed that ‘[t]his is the implicit assumption, present in virtually every report, that what had happened was inevitably going to happen again’ (2002, p. 26). As a significant aspect of the social construction of problems, prediction underpins demands that the problem be remedied or acted upon. While evidence of the use of prediction in the bikie-related newspaper texts published during the research period is discussed further in the following chapter, it was found that its use was not prominent in the Tonic-related texts. Prediction was only evident in two (Riches 2007b; Keller & O’Donohue 2007) of the 16 texts that were Tonic-related (12.5 per cent), suggesting that prediction was not a major dimension of reportage on the incident.
In the spirit of labelling theory, an additional important aspect identified in Cohen’s work, particularly related to the prevalence of prediction in the media’s inventory, is that predictions of future deviance become self-fulfilled (2002, p. 26). As 71
Cohen observed, ‘[u]nlike the case of natural disasters where the absence of predictions can be disastrous, with social phenomenon such as deviance, it is the presence of predictions that can be “disastrous”’ (2002, p. 26). This relates to what is mentioned in Chapter 1 as deviancy amplification (see subsection 1.3.1). With regard to this study, an unnamed lawyer working for bikies suggested that, due to the level of anti-bikie hostility in SA, youth street criminals were being turned into aspirational bikies (see subsection 5.5). Yet apart from this lawyer’s words quoted in the press, no substantial evidence of the phenomenon of the self-fulfilling prophecy was found, making Cohen’s (2002) observations about this of limited relevance to the present research.
3.3.3
Symbolisation
As Cohen highlights, ‘the mass communication of stereotypes, depends on the symbolic power of words and images. Neutral words … can be made to symbolize complex ideas and emotions’ (2002, p. 27). He observed three processes related to symbolisation, which are applicable to the present research (2002, p. 27). First, a word, like ‘bikie’, becomes symbolic of a certain status (Cohen 2002, p. 27): criminally deviant, in this case. Then, objects, such as clothing (leather or jeans) or motorbikes (HarleyDavidsons) come to symbolise the word ‘bikie’ (Cohen 2002, p. 27). Further, ‘the objects themselves become symbolic of the status (and the emotions attached to the status)’ (Cohen 2002, p. 27). Such stereotypes were present in the bikie newspaper corpus, particularly during the initial reaction period following the Tonic incident (see Figure 9). While the incident was one episode within a long bikie saga, the images circulated about bikies and the Tonic incident at the time were not exclusive to initial reaction period, but were echoed throughout the research period. Due to this consistent representation, it may be said that these stereotypes conveyed by the media ‘reaffirmed’ what was already ‘known’ about bikies (Gibbon et al. 2005) – that not only are they bikies, but also gang members, outlaws and criminals. These four fundamental stereotypes constitute the bikie image, which influenced subsequent reactions to the Tonic incident, and the bikie problem more broadly, particularly the resulting culture of control (see Chapter 5).
72
Bikies Gangs Outlaws Criminals Terrorists Organised criminals Criminal associations 0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
Figure 9: The rate with which particular bikie stereotypes appeared in Tonicrelated newspaper texts published in The Advertiser and Sunday Mail during the initial reaction period (3 - 8 June 2007).
3.3.3.1 Bikies: I The most common stereotype that was used to describe MC members was that they were ‘bikies’. As Figure 9 demonstrates, all of the 16 Tonic-related newspaper texts referred to the people involved as bikies. This was also the most popular description adopted in the newspaper texts more broadly (see subsection 4.1.2.1). While this is a predictable result, this representation counts as a stereotype in its own right because of the specific cultural symbolism attached to the term ‘bikie’, in two particular ways. First, throughout time and place, not all bikers are/have been referred to as bikies. For instance, in America, they are bikers, but in Australia they are bikies. This specific use of the term ‘bikie’ is observed to be applied exclusively to MCs that are popularly referred to as ‘outlaw motorcycle clubs’ or ‘1%’ MCs, rather than the term ‘bikers’, which appears to be reserved for members of other types of MCs, such as those that occupy the space between the outlaw motorcycle clubs and recreational riders – ‘10%’ MCs as they are known. Second, the description denotes a population based on the mode of transport they typically use: in this case, a motorcycle. The methodological 73
origins of this description can be seen as to some degree aligned with the way bikies themselves construct their unique social identity: as motorcycle enthusiasts, first and foremost (Wolf 1991). This affinity with the motorcycle carries its own specific symbolism, particularly with (American) ideas of masculinity, and stems from the image of heroic men fighting in WWII, who rode motorbikes, specifically HarleyDavidson motorcycles (Tragos 2009, pp. 547–8; Fuglsang 2007). A similar conceptualisation of masculinity has a significant influence on the bikie stereotype.
While the image of the motorcyclist itself already carries its own social meaning, the image of the bikie raises a number of other expressions of ‘hegemonic masculinity’ (Connell 1995, p. 77), typically those related to the idea of the freespirited, rebellious male. For instance, the descriptor ‘bikie’ may invoke images of a well-built male, sporting tattoos, wearing black leather and/or dirty denims, with a beard, who is probably a heavy drinker and/or a cannabis smoker, and either supports or engages in crimes, particularly of a violent nature. However, bikies are well aware of the negative and stigmatising social meaning of the term ‘bikie’ and the images it raises. At the same time as this symbolism is imposed, they embrace the ‘outsider’ identity by ‘showing class’14 to differentiate themselves from ‘citizens’. In some cases, they even play up to this image of fear as a way of establishing club turf and identity (Shand 2011, p. 24). Due to this ‘hypermasculine’ image, the bikie commands anxiety as much as fascination among the general population. Nonetheless, moral entrepreneurs, like journalists, use the term ‘bikie’ to inform the audience about who the bikie is (that is, an outlaw motorcycle club member) and what the bikie is (for example, big, unhygienic, unkempt, tattooed). In short, the message is that bikies are undesirable, unpleasant, intimidating, and a deviation from social norms.
3.3.3.2 Gangs: I Another image that is regularly drawn upon in the bikie newspaper corpus, and was used in the Tonic-related newspaper texts (see Figure 9), is the description of many 14
To ‘show class’ means to initiate or spread rumours or embrace behaviours that perpetuate a perception
amongst citizens (and sometimes other MCs) that bikies are undesirable, unpleasant, intimidating, and deviant. This may include practices like the wearing of the swastika (Veno & Gannon 2009, p. 114).
74
individual bikies, or particularly an MC, as a ‘gang’ (see subsection 4.1.2.2 for a further discussion of the ‘gangs’ image). Clubs frequently referred to as ‘gangs’ were the Hells Angels, Rebels, Gypsy Jokers and Finks. Bikies and their clubs were also referred to as ‘bikie gangs’ (see, for example, Kyriacou et al. 2007a; ‘Owner pleads for help’ 2007; Riches 2007b; 2007c; Hunt 2007g; Hunt 2007k; James 2008c; James 2008f) and ‘(outlaw) motorcycle gangs’ (see, for example, Riches 2007c). The term ‘gang’ was predominantly used in conjunction with other preceding nouns to present a dubious image of the bikie and to suggest something shady about those with whom the bikie is thought to associate. While calling bikies ‘gangs’ was found to be the preferred noun in the newspaper reports, there were times when the word ‘club’ was also used in the same text (see, for example, Riches 2007b; Riches 2007c). When ‘club’ was used rather than ‘gang’, it espoused a far more accurate image of MCs: that first and foremost they are associations united by a love of motorcycling. If that is not where bikies’ priorities lie, then by definition they are not a bikie or an MC (Veno & Gannon 2009)
Despite how the term ‘gang’ is used to describe bikies and their clubs, this usage is incorrect in a definitional sense. According to the Concise Oxford English Dictionary, the word ‘gang’ has two definitions (Soanes & Stevenson 2006, p. 585): one of these is relevant, but is still inaccurate when referring to bikies. This definition of ‘gang’ is that of ‘an organized group of criminals or disorderly young people’ (Soanes & Stevenson 2006, p. 585).
To call bikie MCs ‘an organised group of criminals’ (Soanes & Stevenson 2006, p. 585) risks inaccurately homogenising bikies and their clubs. It is understandable that people who are not members of an MC might adopt such a description, but as anthropologist Daniel Wolf found (1991), there is actually a great deal of differentiation and variation among bikies and their clubs, who carry their own identities, traditions, symbols, mythologies, culture, and so forth. Further, while some bikies laugh at being described as ‘organised’ criminals (Mandes 2010, min. 3:58), they do still exist in a culture in which some behaviours deemed criminal in broader society are not seen as illegitimate inside the MC (for instance, the smoking of cannabis in the Bandidos; see Barker 2007, p. 172). This sort of culture is what Professor Klaus von Lampe (2003), 75
based on his ‘network approach to organized crime’, describes as ‘social criminal organizations’, which indirectly support the criminal activities undertaken by other members, as opposed to organising and associating for the purposes of profit. The same may be said about other organisations, like corporations, political institutions or parties, or religious institutions. Although it is more accurate to describe the relationship between crime and bikie clubs as a matter of indirect support, it is still a problematic generalisation.
Like any grouping of people, the bikie community is a complex one. To describe bikie MCs as criminal organisations, one needs to answer a number of questions in the positive. The first question is around whether all clubs within a particular geography (local, state/territory, nation, nations or globe) are criminal organisations. Second, one would need to determine whether the description is in reference to all clubs, some clubs, a majority of clubs or particular clubs. If a particular club is deemed to be a criminal organisation, then a third question must be asked, which concerns whether the majority of its ‘members’ (the definition of which is debatable itself, as it could include any type of associate, those who claim to be or those who are seen to be members, former members released from an MC on good terms, former members released from an MC on bad terms, actual patch holders or members, friends, or family) and/or the club’s ‘leadership’ (of the local chapter, the state/territory, the country, or the global organisation) are criminal. The fourth question concerns which offences should be taken into consideration: minor (such as traffic violations), somewhat serious (such as bar fights), or serious offences (such as murder, drug production, trafficking and selling). This question raises the issue of whether the mere charging of a member/s is enough to constitute evidence of MCs alleged organised criminality, or whether it requires a court conviction. Further, on this point it is important to consider the differences between legal systems (for instance, adversarial and inquisitorial systems), as different methods of determining ‘fact’ can yield varied conclusions. A fifth question that should be asked is about the knowledge of an incident among those involved in it – for example, who knew what, who knew when, what they should have known/done, how realistic/unrealistic it is to expect that they should have known, how many knew, how they know, and whether they believed what they are said to have believed. The final questions, which may be the most important: does everyone in the chapter or club 76
support and/or knowingly engage in the alleged organised crime, and should everyone, including those who do not support and/or engage in the organised crime, be subject to the generalisation? In considering these important questions, we can see the multiple and complex implications of labelling a group of people ‘organised criminals’, which likewise result from the use of the term ‘gang’.
3.3.3.3 Outlaws As stated in the previous subsection, the word ‘gang’ was almost always used with other preceding nouns, like ‘outlaw’, in the Tonic-related texts published during the initial reaction period. Describing bikies as ‘outlaws’ was the third most popular stereotype adopted during both the research period (see Figure 9) and the initial reaction period (see Figure 9). Referring to bikies as ‘outlaws’ had two functions. First, it problematises bikies as a population of hardened criminals or an undesirable population indulging in a criminal career. Second, it casts them as banned or outsiders, which, as mentioned in the Introduction of this thesis, is linked to the American Motorcycle Association (AMA) dubbing non-AMA chartered MCs as ‘outlaws’ (Veno & Gannon 2009, pp. 22). However, the (then) SA Attorney-General, Michael Atkinson, offered a more pertinent critique of the use of the term ‘outlaw’ while expressing his frustration at the Legislative Council not passing the SOCC Bill quickly enough:
For 15 years I have heard politicians and senior police officers talk about outlaw motorcycle gangs but they are not outlaw gangs until such time as this Bill comes in and subjects them to genuine legal disabilities. (Atkinson, cited in James et al. 2008b)
While such references to bikies as outlaws suggests that they are hardened criminals and outsiders, neither is an accurate representation of bikies.
3.3.3.4 Criminals The fourth common stereotype that was used to describe the bikies was that of ‘criminals’. As Figure 9 shows, a total of three texts (Riches 2007a; Hunt 2007g; Hunt 2007k), or 18.75 per cent, of the 16 Tonic-related texts overtly used the criminal bikie 77
stereotype. This stereotype was also the fourth most common representation of bikies in the bikie-related newspaper texts published in the research period.
The stereotypes of bikies as ‘gangs’ and ‘outlaws’ are related to the analysis of the criminal bikie stereotype, as they link to the generalisation that bikies are criminal. Alongside the other stereotypes, the bikie as criminal frame is one of the most important stereotypes. This is because it can be used to persuade audiences to think in negative terms about the designated ‘wrong-doers’. This is achieved by encouraging indignation in the self-righteous citizen who ‘works hard to play by the rules’, in contrast to those ‘not playing by the rules’ and who are ‘having it easy’. In mobilising the ‘criminal’ label against an entire population, it becomes reasonable in the minds of the audience to express hostile discourse against that population, which can in turn justify harsh control methods (see Chapter 5). The stereotype of the criminal bikie need not be proven for it to disseminate or ‘stick’ in the collective psyche of the masses.
In addition to the emotive functionality of dubbing populations as criminal is the absolutism of the language adopted in bikie reporting. While it is suggested that bikies are criminal or are engaged in criminal activity, this is generally reported as fact, despite a lack of evidence to support such claims. Even though investigation of a matter may be in its early stages (for example, at the investigation, charge, bail hearing or committal hearing stages), the media word allegations or suspicions in such as way as to convey surety. In fact, the caveat term ‘allegedly’, which qualifies or indicates an element of doubt in statements, is typically absent in bikie reporting. Further, when bikies are discussed in the media, acknowledgement of the complexity and diversity of their collectives are abandoned in favour of a simple homogenous view that works to sustain the criminal bikie stereotype. Through the construction of bikies in the Tonic-related newspaper texts as ‘criminal’, this stereotype is fashioned as a ‘commonsense’ notion that plays a vital role in their construction as folk devils.
3.4
Conclusion
78
This chapter sought to answer: is the threat posed by bikies, and the Tonic incident, exaggerated, sensationalised or distorted, particularly by the media? The relevance of this inquiry lies in the importance of the media ‘inventory’. The early stages of social reaction are vital to subsequent response stages because they provide the foundation of and inform later reaction stages (Cohen 2002), like the broader sense-making stage (see Chapter 4) and the social control culture stage (see Chapter 5). In other words, the way in which the Tonic incident was understood provides the foundation for how people understand the bikie problem more broadly and the sorts of social controls that are ultimately implemented by control agents against bikies.
In seeking to address the first part of the subsidiary question, this chapter has argued that the bikie problem, both generally and within the research period, was presented in an exaggerated, sensationalised and distorted way by a range of actors. This research identified a general consensus that the bikie problem is real, serious and caused by the bikie folk devils and their alleged criminal behaviours, and that something needed to be done. They were accused of engaging in criminal activities and terrorism. Further, it was suggested that bikies are the ‘new Mafia’ (Coulthart & McNab 2011) and ‘the most serious threat to South Australia out of any organised crime groups’ (Government of South Australia 2008, p. 6). Yet the accuracy of such suggestions are at best doubtful. Even if bikies were as ‘bad’ as claimed, it need also be highlighted that ‘news’ reports pay little attention to arguably more serious criminals, such as those who work in politics, the public service, the military and transnational corporations. The overemphasis by the media and the elite on ‘street crime’ falsely implies that the crimes of the powerful are not as serious (Welch et al. 1997; 1998). This emphasis on street crime, and bikie crime specifically, is the product of elite ideology reproduced by compliant journalists (Welch et al. 1997; 1998; Shand 2011).
Nonetheless, the idea that bikies pose a threat was widespread, but it was not found to translate into significant social concern. This was evident through the low levels of reportage on the bikie problem and the Tonic incident in the press. More so, this study found that while the public discourse espoused by moral entrepreneurs was hostile towards bikies, moral entrepreneurs did not express self-righteous moral 79
indignation. Yet it was clear that moral entrepreneurs used moralising discourse to identify ‘bad’ citizens as those who engage in illegal behaviours, such as bikies engaged in crimes. This absence should not be overlooked given the centrality of self-righteous moral indignation and moralisation in Cohen’s conceptualisation of moral panic (2002).
In exploring whether the Tonic incident was exaggerated, sensationalised or distorted, this chapter investigated representations of the incident, particularly during the initial reaction period. The analysis revealed that, while there was a police account of the Tonic incident, its reliability could not be established with reference to other sources, as there were a number of points of contention, particularly in the press reports. Further, the violence at Tonic and the bikie problem featured little in comparison to the amount of newspaper texts published overall in The Advertiser and Sunday Mail. Without clear guidance as to what constitutes an appropriate amount of reporting for a moral panic though, it could not be determined whether the amount of newspaper texts pertaining to the Tonic incident and the bikie problem was over/under-reported during the research period. There was, however, clear evidence of in-text exaggeration and distortion, particularly through the use of sensationalist headlines, melodramatic tone, and the like. Prediction – an important feature of Cohen’s concept of moral panic as it embraced the idea of deviance amplification (2002) – was also not found to be of significance within Tonic-related newspaper texts published during the initial reaction period. An important discovery was the existence of (generally problematic) media stereotypes that conveyed an image of hypermasculinity, hedonism and criminality, which functioned to affirm the folk devil status of bikies for both bikies and moral entrepreneurs. These stereotypes and the representation of the Tonic incident then informed the subsequent reaction stage – the sense-making stage by moral entrepreneurs – which is the subject of the next chapter.
80
CHAPTER 4: OPINION & ATTITUDE THEMES
4.0
Introduction
Based on the third and fourth (moral entrepreneur and expert) stages of Cohen’s moral panic (2002), this chapter explores the logic of the so-called bikie problem as articulated by moral entrepreneurs, and considers the logic of a specific type of moral entrepreneur – the socially accredited expert. As discussed earlier (see Chapter 1), moral entrepreneurs are those who take initiative to persuade others to adopt or maintain a social norm or rule (Becker 1963, Chapter 8). Formal organisations, collectives and associations, and individuals such as socially accredited experts may also be moral entrepreneurs. However, as stated in Chapter 1, this thesis uses the term ‘socially accredited experts’ to refer to Cohen’s ‘right-thinking people’ (Cohen 2002, p. 1) who are ‘understood to have access to more accurate or more specialised information on particular topics than the majority of the population’ (Hall et al. 1978, p. 58). The focus of this chapter is to examine how these moral entrepreneurs made sense of the bikie problem during the research period, and based on this, what the ‘causes’ and ‘solutions’ were according to socially accredited experts. This thesis uses a similar method to that adopted by Cohen (2002) in that it uses content and discourse analysis to interrogate bikie newspaper texts drawn from the research period to uncover the clearest opinion and attitude themes articulated by moral entrepreneurs. The first half of the chapter covers moral entrepreneurs’ understandings of the bikie problem, and the second delves into the ‘diagnosis’ and ‘solutions’ that ‘experts’ articulated.
Shadowing Cohen, the data is categorised into four themes: orientations, images, causations and solutions (2002). Orientation refers to the intellectual and/or emotional standpoint from which the perceived problem is evaluated (Cohen 2002, p. 37). Images represent the opinions held about the nature of the deviants and their deviant behaviour 81
(Cohen 2002, p. 37). Causations refer to opinions about the origins of the deviant behaviour. As Cohen notes, image themes can also be causation themes (Cohen 2002, p. 37). For instance, ‘boredom’ can represent both an opinion about the deviants (images) and the source of their deviation (causation). And solution themes are ideas regarding how the ‘problem’ should be remedied, mitigated or countered (Cohen 2002, p. 37). Orientation and image themes will be discussed in relation to moral entrepreneurs, while causation and solution themes with regard to ‘experts’ are discussed in the second half of the chapter. Due to word limit constraints, only the two themes that received the most coverage in The Advertiser and Sunday Mail are considered in relation to each of the four category themes.
The opinion and attitude themes in relation to the bikie problem expressed by moral entrepreneurs are given more exposure in the press than the views of the general public. This comes as no surprise because the media use the views of the ‘official, the powerful and the rich … constantly … to legitimate the status quo’ (Fowler 1991, p. 22). While in the case under study in this thesis the status quo was upheld – the status quo being that bikies are deviant, a problem and deserving of punitive measures – there were also contrary understandings expressed by moral entrepreneurs. These dissenting voices are explored later in the chapter.
4.1
Moral Entrepreneurs’ Understandings of Bikies and the ‘Bikie Problem’
The way that moral entrepreneurs understand or conceptualise social problems is central to moral panics, and to the construction of social problems more broadly. Because the media tends to use moral entrepreneurs for comment or as sources, rather than other members of society, what moral entrepreneurs say has a significant impact on the way social problems and deviants are understood. Due to the practical and professional constraints facing news producers, moral entrepreneurs represent the most efficient source of comment or information as they are seen to be credible and knowledgeable (that is, reflecting the ‘hierarchy of credibility’; Hall et al. 1978). As a result, they essentially become ‘primary’ and ‘secondary definers’ of reality, which in turn dictates 82
the boundaries and terms of public debate (Hall et al. 1978). Moral entrepreneurs are people who Welch et al. (1997; 1998) identify in their research as ‘experts’, comprised of: ‘state managers’, like the Premier of SA, Mike Rann; and ‘intellectuals’, such as author and academic, Dr Arthur Veno. However, additional categories are identified within this thesis: ‘news producers’, like Sunday Mail journalist, Nigel Hunt, and The Advertiser’s Editor, Melvin Mansell; ‘professional association representatives’, like the President of the SA Police Association, Peter Alexander; ‘criminal justice workers’, like criminal lawyer and chairman of the (former) National Crime Authority, Peter Faris, QC; ‘victim support services representatives’, such as the SA Coordinator for Victims of Crime, Michael O’Connell; and ‘victims’, like part-owner of the Tonic nightclub, Chris March. As Goode and Ben-Yehuda demonstrate (1994), pressure groups – whether they are grassroots or ‘astroturf’ (Stauber & Rampton 1995, p. 79) – can also be moral entrepreneurs, but their role was found to be insignificant in this research. Apart from influencing the ways in which deviants and problems are conceptualised, moral entrepreneurs also share in common that they provide a foundation for the proclamation of diagnosis and solutions. This section describes the dominant discourse themes that moral entrepreneurs used to make sense of the bikie problem, which precedes an exploration of the diagnoses and solutions offered by socially accredited experts in relation to this problem.
4.1.1
Orientations
Emotional and/or intellectual standpoints through which problems are understood and communicated (orientations) shape how we think about them, what we see or experience, our diagnosis of a problem, and what we do to ‘cure’ it. Like metaphors, standpoints are a way of ‘orientating ourselves in the world, and they orient us by highlighting and hiding features of the principal subject’ (Childress 2001, p. 185). Orientations ‘limit what we notice, highlight what we do see, and provide part of the inferential structure that we reason with’ (Lankoff 1991, p. 16). While a number of themes were identified in this research (see Figure 10), only the two most popular orientations of the research period are discussed below: prediction (n=25) and war (n=12).
83
Prediction War It's not the first time It's not only this Crime as entertainment Crisis/disaster It's not so much what happened Wild West Predictable In my day Curse Disease 0
5
10
15
20
25
30
Figure 10: Number of bikie-related newspaper texts published in The Advertiser and Sunday Mail exhibiting moral entrepreneurs' orientation subthemes during the research period (3 June 2007 - 15 May 2008).
4.1.1.1 Prediction The most popular orientation theme that Cohen discovered was the ‘prophecy of doom’ theme (Cohen 2002, p. 38, emphasis omitted). In describing it, he wrote that ‘[a]s a result of the prediction element in the inventory, the deviance was not only magnified, but seen as certain to recur and, moreover, likely to get worse’ (Cohen 2002, p. 38). Although related, the subtheme of prediction is not the same as Cohen’s ‘prophecy of doom’ theme. As explained in Chapter 1 (see subsection 1.2.2), the prophecy of doom subtheme is about the forecasting of the end of society due to the ‘threat’ the folk devils pose to the moral order of society. Given that social concern over the bikie problem was not expressed in the specific terms of an apocalyptic ‘threat’ to the moral order of society (see the previous chapter). Instead of forecasting the end of society (‘prophecy of doom’), the prediction subtheme here refers to conjecture about undesirable future incidents and their likely effects. And prediction is a fundamental ‘news value’ (Galtung & Ruge 1973, p. 62; Fowler 1991, pp. 12–7). Without the forecasting of future 84
incidents, no social control measure will be advocated, let alone implemented – and the bikie problem is no exception to this.
The heightened prevalence of warnings, to remain ‘on alert’, and of possible future ‘harm’ or ‘risk’, is typical of this orientation theme. Evidence from the research period demonstrates such typical expressions of prediction. Statements that things ‘will only get worse’ (see, for example, Riches 2007b); ‘it’s only a matter of time’ (Pallaras, cited in Hunt 2007c; see also Hamilton-Smith, cited in Riches 2007b); there is a ‘trend’ (Harrison, cited in Hunt 2007h; Hunt 2007i); people should ‘use caution’ (Harrison, cited in Hunt 2007i; Kelly 2007); the public, informants and police are at ‘risk’ (see, for example, Pallaras, cited in Hunt 2007c); and similar warnings (see, for example, James et al. 2008a; Hunt 2007f) illustrate the prediction theme in relation to bikies.
4.1.1.2 War During the research period, the bikie problem tended to be communicated in terms of ‘war’. Moral entrepreneurs at the time, such as the SA Police Minister Paul Holloway, subscribed to this orientation theme, communicating and/or understanding the bikie problem as a form of war. While some individuals use ‘war’ and combative language as a metaphor (see, for example, Kyriacou 2007c), (presumably) others genuinely believe that the bikie problem is indeed a war (see, for example, Holloway, cited in Riches 2007d). Premier Rann declared a ‘war on bikies’ in 2001 (Veno 2007), and was the foremost proponent of the war orientation theme. In an article in the national edition of The Advertiser, titled ‘It’s just like war of terror, says Rann’ (Owen 2007a),15 the Premier was paraphrased as saying that ‘[l]ike the war on terror, the bikie gang battle was a “national and international problem”’ (Rann, cited in Owen 2007a; Rann, cited in Owen 2007b).
15
‘Rann wants national laws to beat gangs’ was the state-based equivalent (Owen 2007b) of the same
article printed in the national edition.
85
Recourse to metaphor is often inescapable in our attempts to understand complex matters (Lakoff 1991; 2003), but the use of the war metaphor helps to foster a situation whereby war is trivialised and normalised (Childress 2001; Steinert 2003). The ‘war on AIDS’ (Childress 2001, p. 184), the ‘war on obesity’, the ‘war on crime’, the ‘war on poverty’, the ‘war on terrorism’, and the ‘war on bikies’, for instance, are not wars in the true sense of the word, nor do they exemplify the just war tradition (Childress 2001; Welch et al. 1999). Lakoff writes that metaphors limit ‘what we notice, highlight what we do see, and provide part of the inferential structure that we reason with’ (Lakoff 1991, p. 16). One of the most powerful examples of this is the metaphor of war (see, for example, Owen 2007b), and is particularly effective in regards to the ‘war on bikies’ that gave rise to the SOCC Act, which was inspired by the ‘antiterrorism’ laws. The significance of war language has also been observed by Morgan et al. in their study on moral panic and the rise of the NSW anti-bikie laws (Morgan et al. 2010, pp. 586, 587).
4.1.2
Images
Throughout the research period, a variety of opinions and attitudes were published in The Advertiser and Sunday Mail about the behaviour of bikies (see Figures 12 and 13), which constitute the image themes. Some of these images included claims that bikies are resilient, highly mobile, lack respect for the law, innovative, and insidious. However, the most dominant image themes were the symbolisation themes identified in the previous chapter (‘bikies’, ‘gangs’, ‘outlaws’, ‘criminals’, ‘terrorists’, and ‘organised criminals’) (see subsection 3.3.3). Of all the image themes, the two discussed here are the ‘bikies’ and ‘gangs’ image themes. While it will be explored in more detail later in this subsection, it is important to note here the similarities between the two subthemes – namely, how they rely on an assumption that the bikie way of life is dominated by collectivity and criminality. With this in mind, it is possible then to appreciate the link between the sorts of solutions pronounced by socially accredited experts and the control tactics ultimately adopted to ‘remedy’ the bikie problem.
86
Bikies
Gangs
Outlaws 0
50
100
150
200
250
Figure 11: Number of bikie-related newspaper texts published in The Advertiser and Sunday Mail exhibiting moral entrepreneurs' image subthemes published during the research period (3 June 2007 - 15 May 2008) I.
4.1.2.1 Bikies: II Consistent with the symbolisation themes to emerge from the initial reporting of the Tonic incident (discussed in the previous chapter), the ‘bikies’ theme was the most dominant image theme identified (n=224). Every moral entrepreneur made common reference to the ‘fringe’ population (the 1%) of bikers as ‘bikies’ through most of the bikie newspaper texts sourced for this thesis. The moral entrepreneurs who used the ‘bikies’ image theme conceptualised the folk devils as being different to and a fringe subculture of bikers: thus, a bikie can be a biker too, but a biker is not always a bikie. The categorical name for both of these ‘types’ of bikers identifies them as different from other members of the public, or even from other motorists, by their mode of transport. In addition to functioning as a practical category, the term ‘bikie’ suggests a number of other themes. The bikie is generally constructed as synonymous with the other dominant image themes: gangs, outlaws, criminals, criminal associations and organised criminals. In many ways, therefore, ‘bikie’ is a meta-theme. Further, and arguably more importantly, the term ‘bikie’ has the function of ‘othering’ the population, separating it from the wider society, and even other motorists. Through such othering, bikies are homogenised. This reflects the consensus characteristic of Goode and Ben-Yehuda’s moral panic (1994). 87
Criminals Criminal associations Organised criminals Terrorists Lack respect Insidious A Law unto themselves Resilient Thugs Wealthy Intimidating Not static Big Mobile Revengeful Misunderstood people Macho Stupid Threatening Opportunistic Big collectors Desensitised to violence Don't understand consequences Think they have impunity Notorious Lawless Curse Callous Predators Menace 0
10
20
30
40
Figure 12: Number of bikie-related newspaper texts in The Advertiser and Sunday Mail exhibiting moral entrepreneurs' image subthemes published during the research period (3 June 2007 - 15 May 2008) II. 88
4.1.2.2 Gangs: II Also consistent with the symbolisation themes that were discussed in Chapter 3 is the ‘gangs’ theme, which was the second most common in the texts sourced (n=140). Many of the moral entrepreneurs mobilised this image, particularly the more prominent public figures. As stated earlier, despite the term’s definition being inaccurate in relation to bikies, it is meant to conjure a range of other image themes, similar to the operation of the ‘bikies’ image. The ‘gangs’ image operates as a sort of meta-theme, which intersects with other image themes such as criminality, organised criminals and having criminal associations. In many regards, the ‘gangs’ image is used interchangeably with the ‘criminal’ image. Like the ‘bikies’ image theme, the ‘gangs’ theme emphasises criminality, and just as significantly, the group nature of the bikie philosophy.
4.2
Socially Accredited Experts’ Diagnosis and Proposed Solutions to the ‘Bikie Problem’
Moving on from the orientation and image themes exhibited by moral entrepreneurs, the chapter now turns to consider the causation and solution themes suggested by socially accredited experts. As mentioned earlier, this thesis follows Welch et al.’s identification of state managers and intellectuals as ‘experts’ (Welch et al. 1997; 1998), which are types of moral entrepreneurs. In addition to the range of experts that Welch et al. identified (1997; 1998), it can be said that two other types exist, which are adopted in this section: criminal justice workers, such as criminal lawyers; and representatives of victim support services. As stated earlier, essentially what these types of socially accredited experts have in common is the perceived access they have to accurate or specialised information on matters about which the broader population generally has limited information (Hall et al. 1978, p. 58). They also have in common a symbiotic relationship with the media, which Fowler referred to as ‘[a]ccessed voices’ (Fowler 1991, p. 22). Following Hartley, Fowler explained access in that context as:
the views and styles of a privileged body of politicians, civil servants, directors, managers, experts of various kinds (doctors, architects, directors, accountants, professors), royals and nobles, 89
stars, etc. Access is a reciprocal relationship between such people and the media; the media conventionally expect and receive the right of access to the statements of these individuals, because the individuals have roles in the public domain; and reciprocally these people receive access to the columns of the papers when they wish to air their views. (Fowler 1991, p. 22)
4.2.1
‘Causations’
Various intertwining causation themes were identified as emerging from the opinions of socially accredited experts expressed in the newspaper corpus. As mentioned earlier, causation themes are evident where socially accredited experts offer their diagnosis of a problem. ‘Ineffective laws and/or regulations’ (n=7), ‘bikie culture’ (n=6) and ‘the South Australian government’ (n=6) were the most popular attributed causes of the bikie problem, which are discussed in this subsection. Other causal themes were also identified (see Figure 14).
Interestingly, however, the research suggests that the socially accredited experts, as represented through the press, blamed control agents (the judiciary, legislature and police) as much as the bikie folk devils for the bikie problem. Eight out of the 15 causal themes (53.33 per cent), and 21 of 42 newspaper texts (50 per cent), attributed the cause of the bikie problem to control agents. These figures thus vindicate suggestions that social control agents face a risk of being treated as folk devils (Cohen 2002, p. xxvi).
4.2.1.1 Ineffective Laws and/or Regulations This theme proposes that the cause of the bikie problem is the perceived ineffectiveness of existing laws and/or regulations, or that they are ‘not working’. With regard to the bikie problem, however, the diagnosis offered by some experts, including Faris, QC, included that there were ineffective deterrents against the use of guns by bikies, that the laws needed to be tightened to prevent ‘criminals’ like bikies from entering into ‘legitimate’ businesses, and that the criminal law did not outlaw bikie organisations (Faris 2007). Other experts, like the SA Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Stephen Pallaras, blamed the law’s focus on catching bikies after they have committed an
90
Failing bikie cases Ineffective laws and/or regulations Bikie culture The South Australian government Ineffective government bodies Growth in gangs Bikies' motivation for profit Bikies' mobility Under-resourced police Street gangs Bikies' resilience The politics of fear Limited scrutiny of the state The South Australian Parliament There being a drug market Bikies in licensed venues 0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Figure 13: Number of bikie-related newspaper texts in The Advertiser and Sunday Mail exhibiting socially accredited experts' causation subthemes published during the research period (3 June 2007 - 15 May 2008).
offence, rather than before (Hunt 2007b; 2007c). Similar to Faris, the Assistant Commissioner of SAPol, Tony Harrison, believed that corporate laws needed to be tightened to stop bikies from entering businesses, which should be regulated through the application of ‘a robust fit and proper person test’ (Harrison, cited in Hunt 2007i). This theme is linked to the solution theme that advocates for the amendment or introduction of laws to better target bikies and address the bikie problem.
4.2.1.2 Bikie Culture Alongside ‘the government’, the second most popular causal theme identified among the views expressed by socially accredited experts was to attribute the bikie problem to 91
the organisational culture, ethos or structure of bikie MCs. The logic underpinning the views of those who espoused this causal theme links their disdain for the bikie fraternity to the problems purportedly associated with bikie MCs. For instance, as the DPP, Stephen Pallaras, suggests, because bikies have a strict code of silence, police have difficulty in prosecuting crimes and securing sentences that incapacitate or deter bikies from engaging in crime (Hunt 2007b; 2007c). In addition, Harrison diagnosed the problem as based in the disregard that bikies have for the law, and that bikies are a law unto themselves (James 2007b). Even Veno, an ally of bikies, subscribed to this solution theme: ‘[r]evenge is a key element there in terms of the ethos or mindset of the club’ (Veno, cited in Henderson 2008a). Given such diagnoses, which focus on the nature and internal organisation of the MCs, it makes sense that laws (such as the SOCC Act) intended to outlaw them were proposed, and ultimately passed.
4.1.3.3 The Government ‘The government’ discourse subtheme was also, alongside ‘bikie culture’, the second most frequent to emerge from the newspaper texts. This theme places causation – or rather, blame – on the Rann government, effectively arguing that the government was responsible for the bikie problem. Due to the volume of varying opinions that shared this theme, is the related issues to emerge were complex and broad. The President of the (SA) Police Association, Mark Carroll, was one expert whose views exemplified this causation subtheme. Following a suspected bikie-related shootout on Gouger Street (Adelaide) on 4 May 2008, Carroll expressed his concern for the safety of officers and proclaimed his support for the SOCC Bill (James et al. 2008a; 2008b). He said, ‘[o]ur police respond on behalf of the community and they need the best tools of the trade in order to respond to these criminals’ (James et al. 2008a; 2008b). Another socially accredited expert cited in relation to this theme was an unnamed lawyer representing bikies who proclaimed that ‘Mike Rann is creating a self-fulfilling prophecy. By declaring war on bikies he has given young criminals the aspiration to become bikies’ (cited in James 2008e). While these two experts represent opposing sides in the public debate over the bikie problem, their comments illustrate the broadness encapsulated in ‘the government’ causation subtheme. The apparent consensus that the Rann government was to blame may function as a provocation for governments to ‘get tough’ and implement punitive control measures, like those described in the next chapter. 92
4.2.2
‘Solutions’
Following the exploration of the dominant causation themes in the newspaper discourse, the chapter now identifies the dominant solution themes. As stated earlier, in this context
solution
themes
are
discourse
subthemes
that
emerged
from
the
recommendations of socially accredited experts on particular remedies to the bikie problem, as presented in the press. A number of causation themes were identified (see Figure 15), the most recurring of which were the ‘law reform to criminalise bikies’ and the ‘law reform to stamp bikies out of businesses’ subthemes, which are discussed in this subsection. However, what is most striking about the results depicted in Figure 15 is that the most popular types of solutions advocated by experts were those requiring that laws be amended or new laws created. The fact that the ‘ineffective laws and/or regulations’ subtheme was the most prevalent causation subtheme is not surprising then. It is also not surprising that the two most popular solution subthemes manifested into actual legislation (albeit to varying degrees) (see Chapter 5).
4.2.2.1 Law Reform to Criminalise Bikies The most frequently publicised solution theme, as advocated by socially accredited experts, was the ‘law reform to criminalise bikies’ theme (n=8). This theme is also a subset of the broader solution theme whereby experts have advocated for changes to the legislation or the creation of new laws. Among the experts who supported this specific solution, they argued in favour of the creation of new laws that would criminalise associations or behaviours perceived to be typical of bikie subculture. Peter Faris, QC; (then) SA Premier, Mike Rann; DPP, Stephen Pallaras; (then) SAPol Commissioner, Mal Hyde; and (then) Prime Minister John Howard all broadly agreed on criminalising bikies, by way of imposing laws modelled on ‘anti-terrorism’ laws, laws similar to Hong Kong’s Organised & Serious Crimes Ordinance 1994 which was used to ban the Triads, or America’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organisations Act 1970 (see, for example, Faris 2007; Hunt 2007c; ‘Bikie laws: police concerns’ 2007; Henderson 2007; Milne 2007). Additionally, Hyde advocated for the subcultural symbols and insignias of bikies to be banned (Owen 2007b). The logic underpinning such views, whether sound or not, is that if the state acts more punitively bikies will be deterred 93
Law reform to criminalise bikies Law reform to stamp bikies out of businesses Law Reform on gun ownership National cooperation Seize suspected criminal assets Let bikies sought their own business out Increase scrutiny of the state Courts to impose harsher sentences Knock down suspected bikie clubhouses More (specialised) police Further stigmatise drug use Enhance witness protection programs 0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Figure 14: Number of bikie-related newspaper texts published in The Advertiser and Sunday Mail exhibiting socially accredited experts' solution subthemes published during the research period (3 June 2007 - 15 May 2008).
from or caught engaging in ‘bikie crimes’. This theme follows the causation theme of ‘ineffective laws and/or regulations’. And given that the dominant causation theme was ‘ineffective laws and/or regulations’, this subtheme naturally follows. Considering these two points, it also makes sense that the most popular social control tactic was the antibikie laws, which sought to criminalise bikies (see Chapter 5).
4.2.2.2 Law Reform to Stamp Bikies Out of Businesses The second most frequently publicised solution theme, as articulated by experts, was that of ‘law reform to stamp bikies out of businesses’ (n=6). This subtheme, like the one 94
discussed previously, is part of a broader solution subtheme whereby experts have proposed solutions that require the creation or amendment of laws (n=18). This particular splinter of that broader theme argues that bikies must be weeded out of businesses because they are ‘infiltrating’ (Riches 2007d) legitimate business, operating businesses that are suspected of being fronts to launder ‘dirty money’, or that the sorts of businesses in which they are involved in are immoral. One example of this theme was evident in an editorial opinion piece by Faris in which he proposes a number of solutions to the bikie problem, including tightening the regulation of the sex, adult entertainment and liquor industries (Faris 2007, p. 42). He makes this suggestion based on the presumption that ‘criminals [like bikies] control nightclubs, particularly strip and girlie clubs’ (Faris 2007, p. 42). His characterisation invokes imagery of debauchery and disorder, which may stem from the indignation for which moral entrepreneurs are notorious, becoming flustered over sex, drugs and rock‘n’roll (see, for example, Herd 2009; Thompson 1998). However, the point of this ‘remedy’ is not so much to (further) regulate these industries as it is to prevent particular ‘types’ of people from entering them. The type of people that Faris suggests should be excluded from owning or running nightclubs and strip clubs is anyone ‘associated in any way with gangs or the underworld’ (Faris 2007, p. 42). In other words, he demands a sort of character assessment, which would be based purely on the civil law standard of evidence (that is, on the balance of probabilities). Not only is this solution anti-competitive – anathema to a capitalist society – but it also punishes people’s associations, friendships, relationships and families by promoting ‘otherness’, social/economic alienation and exclusion. Ultimately, however, this remedy became part of the Rann government’s anti-bikie legislative program in 2007/2008, which is discussed in the later chapter.
4.3
Voices Against the Grain
A question that Critcher (2003) and McNally (2008) consider significant to particular case studies that utilise the moral panic concept concerns whether there are any ‘dissenting voices’. Exploring this question is useful because it facilitates understanding of the degree of consensus present in that the popular conceptualisation of a ‘problem’. Further, it can demonstrate how dissenters, such as experts, can be reduced to a status similar to that of folk devils, while some can even become folk heroes. 95
Although this research identified no organised opposition, such as pressure groups, the SA DPP, Stephen Pallaras, academic Dr Arthur Veno, and Democrats member in the SA Parliament, Sandra Kanck, can all be described as moral entrepreneurs who offered ‘dissenting voices’. Their opinions stood in contrast to the popular understandings or proposed solutions to bikies and the bikie problem espoused by other moral entrepreneurs. While they can be seen as dissenting voices, it should be noted that their status is only relative to the public discourse on the bikie problem. In the broader scheme of things, their opinions were consistent with the consensus: that bikies are a ‘problem’.
4.3.1
Pallaras
The SA DPP, Stephen Pallaras, was an outspoken critic of the laws that existed during the research period, and of the government’s legislative plans to adapt anti-terrorism laws for use against bikies. Because of this, and particularly in light of his status, his criticisms received considerable favourable publicity in the Sunday Mail (Hunt 2007b; 2007c; 2007d). While Pallaras believed that the alleged activities of bikies constituted a ‘risk’ to ‘community safety’ and that ‘something should be done’ (Pallaras, cited in Hunt 2007b), he argued that the government’s idea to use anti-terrorism laws was ‘misguided’ (Pallaras, cited in Hunt 2007b; Pallaras, cited in Hunt 2007d). Further, while the SA Parliament was debating the SOCC Bill he saw the measure as not going far enough (Hunt 2007c; 2007d). Pallaras instead wanted bikies to be suppressed in a manner similar to that imposed on the Triads under Hong Kong’s Organized and Serious Crimes Ordinance (1994, Cap 455; Hunt 2007b; 2007c).
4.3.2
Veno
Unlike Pallaras, ‘bikie expert’ Dr Arthur Veno was to a greater extent an opponent to the dominant discourse themes covered in this chapter. For Veno, the ‘bikie crime problem’ in MCs should be conceptualised as merely a matter of ‘a few bad apples’ (Veno 2007; 2008; Veno & Gannon 2009). Nonetheless, he agreed that something should be done about the ‘problem’, but that the strategy adopted should not be 96
punitive. The proposal he made can be understood as isolationist – he argued that bikies should be left to police themselves, and that the non-criminal elements of MCs should be empowered to control their members (Veno 2007; 2008).16 Further, he suggested that hostile police–bikie relations are the result of the state for its attempt to control bikies, which he predicted would impact on ‘innocent police [who will] likely be the target of [bikie] retribution’ (Veno 2007).
4.3.3
Kanck
The third voice of dissent was SA Democrats politician, Sandra Kanck, who was critical of the SOCC Bill (see Kelton 2008b; Smithson 2008; Vaughan 2008b). In the lead-up to the SOCC Bill’s introduction to Parliament, Kanck held a meeting with bikies, for which she was condemned (James 2008b; Kelton 2008a). According to Atkinson, Kanck stated that bikies were ‘misunderstood people who were about to be penalised by draconian laws’ (Kelton 2008a). She reportedly questioned why a bikie club run attracted heavy policing (‘150 police keep watch on bikies’ 2008). Overall, fellow parliamentarians ridiculed Kanck’s views. And these criticisms carried over into press reports related to her position on the bikie problem (see James 2008b; Kelton 2008a).
4.4
Conclusion
According to Cohen’s conceptualisation of moral panic, after the nature of the ‘condition, episode, person or group of persons … is presented in a stylized and stereotypical fashion by the mass media’ (first and second criteria or the emergence and media inventory stages), ‘right-thinking people’ (moral entrepreneurs) disseminate their opinions about the ‘problem’ (third criteria or the moral entrepreneur stage), and ‘socially accredited experts pronounce their diagnoses and solutions’ (fourth criteria or the expert stage) (Cohen 2002, p. 1). By addressing the moral entrepreneur and expert stages, this chapter has identified and analysed the dominant ways in which bikies and the bikie problem were conceptualised by moral entrepreneurs.
16
For a further explanation of his proposed solution to the ‘bikie crime problem’, see Veno and Gannon
(2009, Chapter 17).
97
This chapter found that the bikie problem was typically discussed as though it were inevitable that violent bikie episodes would reoccur and/or become progressively worse (the ‘prediction’ orientation theme). This was not expressed in terms of prophecies of doom – that if the bikie problem continuing unabated it would bring about the fall of society through a collapse of the moral/social order of society, which is an important ingredient to moral panics (Cohen 2002). The problem was also conceptualised by moral entrepreneurs as a ‘war’, which functioned to foster anti-bikie hostility by encouraging an ‘us’ versus ‘them’ mentality (the ‘war’ orientation theme). Consistent with the symbolisation themes discussed in the previous chapter, moral entrepreneurs typically described MC members as ‘bikies’ (via the ‘bikie’ image theme) and as ‘gangs’ (as per the ‘gangs’ image theme). This suggested a number of other interconnecting characteristics about bikies: that their way of life includes gathering in large groups; that they have an identifiable collective identity; and, above all, that they are criminal, engage in criminal activity, or have criminal associations. It was also found that the most popular diagnosis of the problem by experts (‘ineffective laws and/or regulations’, the ‘bikie subculture’, and ‘the government’ themes) was related to the dominant orientation and image themes that were exhibited by the broader pool of moral entrepreneurs. In other words, if one believes that the bikie problem is inevitably continuous (based on the ‘war’ and ‘prediction’ orientation themes), that the bikie is part of a gang of criminals riding around on motorcycles (as per the ‘bikies’ and ‘gangs’ image themes), and that bikies behave in these ways because of a deficiency in the law, then naturally what will be proposed is a legal ‘solution’ which aims not only to tie up legal ‘loopholes’ but also to punish bikies. Further, this analysis sheds light on the rationale for the types of solutions proposed – that is, those based on law reform. What these opinion and attitude themes demonstrate is a lack of cohesion in the public narrative against bikies; that there was a tension between constructions of bikies as terrorists and criminals. These findings also reveal the powerful influence of moral entrepreneurs’ understandings of bikies and the bikie problem, and, as the following chapter reveals, how they are related to the sorts of social control measures that are ultimately adopted in response.
98
Following Cohen’s praise (Cohen 2002, p. xxii) for the work of Goode and BenYehuda (1994) in identifying the characteristics of his moral panic conceptualisation, the conclusion now reflects on the chapter in light of three of the five characteristics these authors identified: concern, hostility and consensus (Goode & Ben-Yehuda 1994). The characteristics of disproportionality and volatility are not covered, as the content of the chapter did not specifically demonstrate these characteristics. As the chapter has revealed, following the Tonic incident there emerged a clear level of heightened concern over bikies and the bikie problem. This was evident in the fact that moral entrepreneurs believed that the problem was serious enough to warrant their providing commentary on the issue in the press. However, as demonstrated in the previous chapter, this concern was reactionary, and inconsistent. The concern expressed was also not articulated using discourse that is central to moral panic: that the problem was a threat to the moral social order and would lead to the demise of society, particularly if left ‘unaddressed’ (as per Cohen’s ‘prophecy of doom’ orientation theme [2002, p. 38]). Instead, the dominant understandings evident were that the bikie problem will continue, and that society was in a war with bikies.
Parallel to the heightened level of concern, moral entrepreneurs directed and increased hostility towards bikies over the bikie problem. Much of the discourse operated to produce a homogenised and negative view of bikies, particularly when experts identified causes of the bikie problem. However, in relation to the most dominant causation themes (‘failing bikie cases’, ‘ineffective laws and/or regulations’ and ‘bikie culture’) comments were made by experts that attributed part of the blame to who Welch et al. refer to as state managers (1997; 1998), upholding Cohen’s suggestion that state managers can in certain contexts can be labelled as folk devils (Cohen 2002, xxii).
The embodiment of widespread, although not total, consensus that the bikie problem exists was also discussed in this chapter. In considering the discourse themes identified, moral entrepreneurs were found to be reproducing the consensus that bikies are deviant, a problem, and deserving of additional social control measures. Dissenting voices emerged (Pallaras, Veno and Kanck), but Kanck was the only ‘true’ dissenter as 99
the others still believed that bikies, wholly or in part, pose a problem and require increased social control. These voices were not part of any organised opposition to counter the consensus generated through public discourse.
100
CHAPTER 5: THE SOCIAL CONTROL CULTURE
5.0
Introduction
This chapter explores the practical responses to manage the bikie problem: how particular actors, like the police, the judiciary and lawmakers, who are ‘official agents of social control’ (Cohen 2002, p. 66), responded in an organised way after the Tonic incident. These responses amount to what Edwin Lemert and others including Cohen refer to as the ‘social control culture’, or ‘the laws, procedures, program and organisations which in the name of a collective help, rehabilitate, punish or otherwise manipulate deviants’ (Lemert 1951, p. 447; Lemert 1951, cited in Cohen 2002, p. 66). Lemert’s idea of the social control culture, which was adopted by Cohen, is one of many fundamental aspects of moral panic as it demonstrates how control agents adapt and create new controls to ‘solve problems’. Further, the idea of the social control culture helps establish links between the institutional response of control and the dominant ideological constructs of ‘problems’ as espoused by moral entrepreneurs.
Following Cohen’s and Lemert’s work (Lemert 1951; Cohen 2002), this chapter explores the emergence of the control culture period from the day following the Tonic incident (3 June 2007) to the day Royal Assent was given to the SOCCA Bill on 15 May 2008 (the research period). The chapter contains the final three components of Cohen’s conceptualisation of the stages of moral panic: the coping and resolution, fade away, and legacy stages (Cohen 2002). Additionally, it incorporates two characteristics from Goode and Ben-Yehuda’s (1994) moral panic conceptualisation: hostility and disproportionality. The chapter investigates the controls that the three types of control agents (the police, the judiciary and legislature) imposed. What will be made clear is that, while the SOCC Act is the most well-known control applied during the research period, it was one of many hostile and disproportionate oppressive instruments 101
implemented. Further, the relationship between ideology (covered in the previous chapter) and the social controls will be highlighted, particularly with regards to the controls implemented by the legislature. Before the Conclusion of this chapter, the common elements of diffusion, escalation and innovation, which bind the different controls together (Cohen 2002, Chapter 4), are discussed.
5.1
The Police
As Cohen states, not only do the police play a fundamental role in the construction of deviants, but they also play a key role in subsequent reactions and perceptions of deviants (Cohen 2002, p. 71). Whether this is through ‘public degradation ceremonies’ (Garfinkel 1956), or saturation policing operations or ‘security theatre’ (Schneier 2003), police are at the forefront of amplifying perceptions of deviancy and feelings of marginality among those on the receiving end. This is so with regards to the sorts of social controls that were implemented by the police during the research period, such as the use of police taskforces, shadowing MC runs17 and dramatic raids.
5.1.1 Police Taskforces With regard to the bikie problem, a number of control measures were implemented that had the effect of facilitating increased control, amplifying perceptions of deviance and raising feelings of marginality among bikies. One tactic was the use of anti-bikie police taskforces, one of which was named Operation Avatar, founded in 2001 to disrupt ‘bikie activities’ (SAPol 2007c, pp. 3, 21). The role of this taskforce was to investigate and collect evidence for bikie or bikie-related cases, execute search and arrest warrants, ‘monitor’ bikies at club runs, and work with other segments of the SAPol, including the Special Tasks And Rescue (STAR) Group, Local Service Areas, the Major Crime Branch, the Organised Crime Branch, the Drug Investigation Branch, and the Licensing Enforcement Branch. However, Avatar was dissolved in late 2007.
17
Club runs are official outings for MCs, that typically take place during the riding season and can last
for a day, a weekend or a week, where bikies party, camp or celebrate a special event (Veno & Gannon 2009, p. 260).
102
In November 2007, Avatar was replaced by the more permanent and general police taskforce, the CGTF, which functions as a branch within Crime Service (SAPol 2007c, p. 3). While its role is similar to that of Avatar, the original role set for the CGTF was to assist with the enforcement of the Rann government’s anti-bikie legislative package that was implemented between June 2007 and late 2008 (SAPol 2008c, p. 25). Another difference was the makeup of its staff: the CGTF ‘boasted fiftyfour officers and seventeen specialist staff, including forensic accountants, criminal intelligence experts and high-level analysts’ (Shand 2011, p. 204). At the time of writing, the CGTF remains in operation.
5.1.2 Shadowing Club Runs Another control tactic employed by police was the heavy policing of club runs, which resulted in the creation of a public security spectacle, which may have affirmed preexisting hostility and feelings of marginality. While it is typical that club runs like that hosted by the Hells Angels and Finks on 3 November 2007 attract a heavy police presence (Hunt 2007m), a run in March 2008 attracted a more disturbing police presence (‘150 police keep watch on bikies’ 2008). During the March 2008 club run, involving about 100 people, was attended by 50 police cars, 20 police motorbikes, two police helicopters, two mobile police alcohol and drug testing units, six STAR fourwheel drives, and six surveillance four-wheel drives shadowed the bikies (‘150 police keep watch on bikies’ 2008). The extreme level of this operation attracted criticism from Democrats member Sandra Kanck in the SA Parliament (‘150 police keep watch on bikies’ 2008). The excessive nature of the policing of bikie runs, and of bikies using the roads generally, is said to be a routine experience for bikies (Shand 2011).
5.1.3 Dob in a ‘Thug’ As a way to counter the strict code of silence in the bikie subculture and the fear of reprisal that witnesses of ‘bikie crime’ may hold, the SAPol launched a phone-in campaign in January 2008 to encourage members of the public to ‘anonymously’ share information on ‘gang crime’ (Hyde, cited in SAPol 2008a, p. 1). Eighty-nine of the calls 103
received gave police leads to investigate further (Bray, cited in James 2008a, p. 48; SAPol 2008a, p. 1), and resulted in several arrests.18 This social control tactic relates to the perception that bikies have a cultural propensity to be vengeful and enforce a culture of silence among witnesses (as per the ‘bikie culture’ causation subtheme; see subsection 4.2.1.2).
5.1.4 Dramatic Raids Throughout the research period a number of police raids were executed on the homes, businesses and clubhouses of bikies and their associates. One involved a raid on a 26year-old Finks member’s home (Kyriacou et al. 2007b). The male was on a homedetention order and wearing a security bracelet, but was not responding to police attempts to make contact with him (Kyriacou et al. 2007b). The raid included officers from the Avatar Taskforce and the paramilitary police unit the STAR Group, who believed that the Finks member was inside the home and in possession of a handgun (Kyriacou et al. 2007b). The premises were reportedly cordoned off, and a nearby primary school placed under lockdown (Kyriacou et al. 2007b). When the police raided the property, they discovered the man was not home, but seized a loaded semiautomatic handgun and a small number of cannabis plants from his home (Kyriacou et al. 2007b). While the raid was not widely reported, dramatic scenes in operations like these create, add to and vindicate the association of bikies with criminality and deviance. Unfortunately, bikies, as well as the media, public and politicians, have also grown to expect such theatre.
5.1.5 New Powers A third control measure advocated by police, and subsequently granted, was increased police powers. The sorts of powers requested by the police included changes to the SA Firearms Act 1977 to make it easier for police to convict suspects, like bikies. They also 18
Veno and van den Eynde (2007) had used a similar tactic in 2004 as part of their action research
project. Instead of the public being encouraged to report ‘gang crime’, they were encouraged to report experiences of police misconduct to the ‘STAR Force Corruption Hotline’ that Veno and van den Eynde set up (2007, p. 500).
104
requested powers to ban perceived ‘troublemakers’, such as bikies, from licensed premises, and other powers similar to those contained in the SOCC Act. The SOCC Act, the changes to the Firearms Act, and other legislative changes are discussed in greater details later in the chapter (see section 5.3).
5.1.6 Other Measures In addition to being granted new powers, the creation of two police taskforces, and the introduction of the crime gangs phone-in line to help police bikies, a number of other measures were introduced during the research period. One included the establishment of the Criminal Associations Unit, which was created to prepare applications for declarations and control orders made under the SOCC Act (SAPol 2008c, p. 25). It was also responsible for managing and collecting ‘criminal intelligence’ and other forms of ‘evidence’ in regards to ‘criminal associations’ (SAPol 2008c, p. 25). Further, ‘a number of new internal strategies including improved communication technology’ were implemented (SAPol 2008c, p. 25).
5.2
The Judiciary
In addition to the police, the judiciary also institutionalised social control mechanisms. Rather than achieving this through the use or show of force, like the police, judges at the state and national levels implemented their controls through legal interpretation and the creation of case law. Two particular cases are noteworthy, as they legitimised preemptive policing and state oppression through the use of suspicion in the civil legal system, in which the standards of evidence are not as high as those in the criminal realm.
5.2.1 ‘Unfit and Improper’ Persons The first important case to consider involved two former owners of an Adelaide club, Mark Zerella and Jason Ravesi (Church Entertainment Venue [2007] SALC 30). On 8 October 2007, the SA Licensing Court handed down its decision on an application made by the Commissioner pursuant to section 55 of the Liquor Licensing Act 1997 (SA) to 105
have the two disqualified from being directors, shareholders or secretaries for any corporation (Church Entertainment Venue [2007] SALC 30). Jude Barry Beazley upheld the application, finding that neither of the two were ‘fit and proper’ persons, mostly due to their association with bikies (Church Entertainment Venue [2007] SALC 30; ‘Club Directors “Unfit” For License’ 2007). This social control tactic is linked to the popular belief among experts that bikies were ‘infiltrating legitimate businesses’ (a causation subtheme) and needed to be stopped through the use of character tests (a solution subtheme), as discussed in the previous chapter.
5.2.2 Jokers’ Day in Court A second important case was an appeal to the HCA made by the WA Gypsy Jokers MC. In this case (HCA 2008; Gypsy Jokers Motorcycle Club Incorporated v Commissioner of Police [2008] HCA 7), the MC argued that the WA Police Commissioner’s ability to use secret ‘criminal intelligence’ as part of an order to remove ‘fortifications’ (in that case, a concrete front wall, surveillance cameras, steel doors and modified timber doors) from one of their clubhouses under the WA Corruption and Crime Commissioner Act 2003 (the CCC Act) was unconstitutional (HCA 2008). The Gypsy Jokers MC argued that the relevant section of the CCC Act violated due process principles because it allegedly gave absolute authority to the Commissioner to decide what evidence (in this case, ‘criminal intelligence’) was appropriate to not disclose, and thus would compromise the club’s ability to test evidence and the order made against it (HCA 2008; Gypsy Jokers Motorcycle Club Incorporated v Commissioner of Police [2008] HCA 7). The HCA dismissed the appeal on the grounds that the appellate had misconstrued the CCC Act, in that it was not constructed so as to give absolute authority to the Commissioner (HCA 2008; Gypsy Jokers Motorcycle Club Incorporated v Commissioner of Police [2008] HCA 7).
5.3
The Legislature
The third institution of social control agents is the legislature, specifically the SA Parliament. Out of the three – the police, judiciary and legislature – the legislature is arguably the most influential. This is so because they operate in a hegemonic fashion by 106
producing a social culture through the passing of laws that are enforced and interpreted by the police and the judiciary. Members of the legislature, who are moral entrepreneurs, codify new norms through the creation of laws, which makes them pivotal in defining what is counted as ‘social problems’.
The link between ideology and action is nowhere more clear than in the actions of the legislature, particularly given that the dominant proposed solution themes that were discussed in Chapter 4 concerned law reform. With regard to the legislators in the SA Parliament, they introduced a number of laws during the research period, some of which were directly or indirectly justified on the basis that they would ‘solve’ the bikie problem. This subsection describes only the laws that were introduced during the research period, and that were explicitly justified on the grounds of policing bikies, as per Hansard records. Four laws adhere to this criterion, and are discussed below. While these four laws were passed as part of the Rann government’s anti-bikie legislative program, it should be noted that they were broad enough to be applied to others. They also accompanied already existing SA legislation supposedly aimed at bikies (for example, the Statutes Amendment (Anti-Fortification) Act 2003 [SA], and the Statutes Amendment (Liquor, Gambling and Security Industries) Act 2005 [SA]) and they accompany ones that were justified in part to combat bikies (for example, the Criminal Assets Confiscation (Serious Offences) Amendment Bill 2007 [SA], and the Summary Offences (Drug Paraphernalia) Amendment Act 2008 [SA]).
5.3.1 Codifying Public Disorder Offences The first Bill passed as part of the government’s anti-bikie legislative program was the Statutes Amendment (Public Order Offences) Bill 2007 (SA), which was introduced to the Parliament by Attorney-General Michael Atkinson on 21 November 2007. The Act included three new statutory offences: riot, affray and violent disorder (Amendment (Public Order Offences) Act 2008). Interestingly, until the Bill’s introduction, SA was the only Australian state without the statutory offence of riot, as its common law equivalent was abolished through the Criminal Law Consolidation Act 1935 (Sch 11; Bronitt & McSherry 2005, p. 893, Table 3). For Atkinson and Police Minister Paul 107
Holloway, the ‘problem’ that needed to be solved was the absence of offences typically associated with the sorts of violent disorder in which bikies are engaged and for which they are seen to ‘get off lightly’ (Atkinson, cited in Parliament of SA 2007b, p. 1803; Holloway, cited in Parliament of SA 2008a, p. 2001; Atkinson, cited in Parliament of SA 2007b, p. 1803; Holloway, cited in Parliament of SA 2008a, p. 2000), such as alcohol-fuelled fights. This form of social control specifically relates to the causal themes discussed in Chapter 4, as it was widely believed by experts that the laws were ineffective, that bikies typically get drunk and fight, and that the Rann government had not provided police with the powers they needed to prosecute bikies effectively (see subsection 4.2.1).
5.3.2 Criminalising Social Interaction On 21 November 2007 – almost half a year after the Tonic incident – Atkinson introduced into the SA Parliament the most well-known of the anti-bikie social controls implemented during the research period. The SOCC Bill, which was passed on 8 May 2008, was allegedly introduced to control the bikies, specifically to address their perceived prominence in SA’s criminal underworld, the ‘risk to public safety’ they posed, their infiltration of legitimate industries (Riches 2007d; Moor 2008), their growth in numbers, and their suspected involvement in crimes, like the Tonic incident (Atkinson, cited in Parliament of SA 2007b, p. 1805). The urgency with which the SOCC Bill purportedly needed to be pushed through the Parliament is questionable given that it was nine months after it was passed before it was actually used (McGarrity & Williams 2010, p. 142).
To deal with the so-called threat posed by bikies, the SOCC Act, which is essentially anti-association in nature, was based on the draconian federal anti-terrorism laws. The SOCC Act allows the Attorney-General to issue declarations against ‘criminal organisations’, with the use of secret evidence (or ‘criminal intelligence’) (SOCC Act, Part 2). And similar to the anti-terrorism laws, it obliged the SA Magistrates Court to impose control orders against individual ‘members’ of proscribed organisations, placing restrictions on whom they could associate with, and how often 108
(Williams et al. 2010; SOCC Act, Part 3). In addition, the Act created ‘public safety orders’, which allowed police officers to ban people from any place on ‘public safety grounds’ (Atkinson, cited in SA Parliament 2007b, p. 1805; SOCC Act, s. 23). It also amended the Bail Act 1985 (SA), so that bail was not presumed if the accused was charged with a particular crime (SOCC Act, Part 2).19
Broadly, the SOCC Act directly relates to the popular opinion and attitude themes discussed in the previous chapter. The bikie problem was constructed using imagery associated with war (the war orientation subtheme) against individuals who are said to typically associate for the purpose of committing crimes (the ‘gangs’ image subtheme). The bikie problem was seen as occurring because of inefficiencies in the laws and regulations at the time (the ‘ineffective laws and/or regulations’ causation subtheme), the culture of bikies (‘bikie culture’ causation subtheme), and the perceived inadequacies of the Rann government in providing the ‘right’ laws for police to do their job (‘the government’ causation subtheme). Experts advocated that the law be changed so that bikies would effectively become criminalised in a way similar to ‘terrorists’ under the federal anti-terrorism laws (as per the ‘law reform to criminalise bikies’ solution subtheme). As a result of these ‘ingredients’ in the public discourse, the creation and passing of the SOCC Act were made possible.
5.3.3 Bar and Casino Prohibition Orders The Liquor Licensing (Power to Bar) Amendment Bill 2008 was introduced on 4 March 2008 and passed as the Statutes Amendment (Power to Bar) Act 2008 on 26 November 2008 with substantial amendments. The Bill was introduced by the SA Minister for Consumer Affairs, Jennifer Rankine, to address acts of violence involving bikies at licensed premises, such as the Tonic incident (Rankine, cited in Parliament of SA 2008a, p. 2339; Rankine, cited in Parliament of SA 2008c, p. 1073). It was also 19
It should be noted, however, that after a successful constitutional appeal, the SOCC Act was forcibly
redrafted as the HCA decided that the Act compromised the independence of the judiciary through its obligation on the Magistrate’s Court to impose control orders (Appleby & Williams 2010, pp. 162-3; Williams et al. 2010). Further, it had to be redrafted a second time to take into account a second HCA judgement (see Wainohu v New South Wales [2011] HCA 11; Gavin 2012).
109
introduced to help improve the confidence of licensees who might be ‘too frightened and intimidated’ to take legal action to ban certain individuals (Rankine, cited in Parliament of SA 2008a, p. 2339; Rankine, cited in Parliament of SA 2008c, p. 1073). In essence, the Act allows police to arbitrarily ban a person from liquor-licensed premises and Adelaide’s SkyCity casino with little or no evidence (Statutes Amendment (Power to Bar) Act). It also allows the Commissioner to use secret evidence (or ‘criminal intelligence’) to support the barring order (Statutes Amendment (Power to Bar) Act). If it were not for the prevalence of the prediction orientation subtheme, the the bikies and gangs image subthemes, the ineffective laws and/or regulations, bikie culture causation, and government causation subthemes, it is doubtful that the bar and casino prohibition orders would have been implemented.
5.3.4 Gun Law Reform The Firearms (Firearms Prohibition Orders) Amendment Bill (2008) was introduced on 5 March 2008 by Holloway, and passed with few amendments by the SA Parliament on 5 June 2008. The Bill was introduced in response to the Tonic incident (Holloway, cited in Parliament of SA 2008b, p. 2055), albeit nine months after the incident; and to provide harsher penalties for gun crime through the creation of new firearm offences (Parliament of SA 2008b, p. 2056; Firearms (Firearms Prohibition Orders) Amendment Bill). The Act’s purpose was also to help prevent future gun crime. The Act provides police with the power to ban individuals ‘with a known propensity for violence, or persons who associate with such persons, from possessing or accessing firearms’ (Holloway, cited in Parliament of SA 2008b, p. 2055). It also gives police the power to stop and search ‘on sight’ individuals subjected to a particular type of barring order, namely a Registrar-issued prohibition order (Holloway, cited in Parliament of SA 2008b, p. 2056; Firearms (Firearms Prohibition Orders) Amendment Act 2008 [hereafter Firearms Amendment Act], s. 31). In situations where individuals are being questioned by police in relation to a suspected gun crime, the Act abolishes their legal right to silence (Holloway, cited in Parliament of SA 2008b, p. 2057; Firearms Amendment Act, s. 30). Further, if an individual is found anywhere near a firearm they are required to prove that it is not theirs, thereby reversing the onus of proof (Holloway, cited in Parliament of SA 2008b, p. 2057; Firearms Amendment Act, s. 32). Similar to 110
the ‘fit and proper’ person test contained the Liquor License Act (1997, s 55) that was used against Zerella and Ravesi (see Church Entertainment Venue [2007] SALC 30; see also subsection 5.2.1), the Act expands the Firearms Act’s ‘fit and proper’ person test to specifically consider the ‘reputation, honesty and integrity of a person and the people with whom that person associates’ in the case of firearms applicants (Holloway, cited in Parliament of SA 2008b, p. 2057; Firearms Amendment Act, s. 5). This form of social control has emerged as a direct result of the popular conceptions of the ‘bikie problem’ that were discussed in the previous chapter, particularly the belief that the laws at the time were not working to prosecute and deter bikies from committing firearms offences (as per the ineffective laws and/or regulations causation theme). If experts had not articulated these ideas, the changes to the Firearms Act may not have occurred.
5.4
Diffusion, Escalation and Innovation
Cohen observed a number of common elements in his study of the social control culture that emerged as a response to the phenomenon of mods and rockers (Cohen 2002, Chapter 4). These common elements he termed diffusion, escalation and innovation (Cohen 2002, Chapter 4). Similar to Cohen’s work (2002, Chapter 4), these themes were also observable in the control culture that emerged following the Tonic incident.
5.4.1 Diffusion The element of diffusion refers to how the response to a ‘problem’ spreads beyond the bounds of the immediate flashpoint (Cohen 2002, p. 66). Cohen found that the control culture, as part of the social reaction to an incident, is supplemented or replaced by agents or controls from the suprasystem, which may originate from the national and/or international levels (Cohen 2002, p. 66). In response to the Tonic incident, the resulting social control culture was not limited to the location at which the incident occurred – that is, Adelaide. The bikie problem became a national and international agenda item once again.
111
In addition to the local and state responses to the Tonic incident, which have been discussed in this chapter, responses were evident at the supranational level in two ways. First, police ministers from Australia and New Zealand created a national antibikie working group as part of the Ministerial Council on Police and Emergency Management – Police to report on how these respective governments might better tackle the bikie problem (Kelton 2007). Second, the federal government helped fund a trial of roadside cameras to police bikies ‘smuggling drugs across state borders’ (Nankervis 2007). The trial of the high-tech cameras was carried out by the federal informationsharing agency for law enforcement and national security agencies, CrimTrac (CrimTrack 2011; Nankervis 2007). These two supranational measures drew upon the resources and work of a number of organisations and agencies that were outside the local and state levels, demonstrating the diffusive nature of the social response to the bikie problem.
5.4.2 Escalation As Cohen states, escalation refers to an intensification of ‘the whole scope and intensity of the control culture’ (Cohen 2002, p. 67). In explaining this element, he uses the case of the zoot suits phenomenon to demonstrate how those who are pictured as ‘outside the normative order, [and] devoid of morals … [are] consequently not entitled to fair play and due process’ (Turner & Surace 1956, cited in Cohen 2002, p. 67). The issue of escalation is equally relevant to the passing of the SOCC Act following the Tonic incident.
Before the Tonic incident occurred, there were a number of measures that formed the anti-bikie social control culture. The intensity and number of these measures in the years prior to the Tonic incident waxed and waned. For instance, before the incident, the SA Government had undertaken efforts to ban bikies from particular businesses and to institutionalise the use of secret criminal intelligence outside the terrorism context (see, for example, Statutes Amendment (Anti-Fortification) Act 2003; Statutes Amendment (Liquor, Gambling and Security Industries) Act 2005) with which this type of evidence is generally associated (Roach 2010). However, the social control 112
culture took a marked shift with the passing of the SOCC Act, as the bikie effectively came to be reconstructed as a ‘terrorist’, both legislatively and rhetorically. As mentioned previously, Premier Rann expressed his desire for bikies to be ‘treated like terrorists’ (Rann, cited in Parliament of SA 2007a, p. 300), through the power to proscribe organisations and apply control orders permitted under the SOCC Act. The passing of this Act marked the beginning of a nation-wide trend of similar anti-bikie laws being implemented. The way in which the bikie has been reconstructed as a terrorist, both rhetorically and legislatively, and the fact that states and territories around Australia have implemented similar legislation, demonstrates how the social control directed at bikies escalated following the Tonic incident.
5.4.3 Innovation The third common element that Cohen observed in his study was that of innovation in the sorts of tactics implemented by control agents as part of the social control culture (2002, pp. 68–71). He explains how innovation means that the control culture is extended through the variety of new control measures available to it (Cohen 2002, p. 68). This was certainly a feature of the social control culture that emerged following the Tonic incident, as the SOCC Act marked a shift in the manner in which control agents controlled bikies. However, as this chapter has illustrated, the social controls created were a combination of what may be described as ‘soft’ and ‘hard’ controls. A range of control agents – the police, judiciary and legislature, implemented the controls. The controls were implemented at a range of levels – local, state and supranational – as part an ‘all-of-state’ response, were diverse, and most notably innovative (including police taskforces; the crime-gang phone-in line; and the institutionalisation of police crime intelligence). Despite the controls being purportedly aimed at bikies they could all be used to police other undesirable populations. The sheer volume and diversity of social control tactics developed and implemented during the research period to control bikies certainly demonstrates a sophisticated level of innovation.
5.5
Blowback
113
For every solution there are unintended or unforeseen impacts (Ayling 2013), which in the military world is known as ‘blowback’ (Johnson 2000). In relation to this, it is important to mention that in terms of the bikie problem and the social control culture that developed after the Tonic incident, there were two significant examples of such unintended consequences. Echoing the logic of labelling theory, the first of these was the emergence of aspirational bikies from among members of youth street gangs in response to the Rann government’s hostile anti-bikie culture (James 2008e). ‘[T]hey’ll [youth street gangs] do whatever they can to join a bikie gang because they think it’s becoming glamorous to be known as outlaws … Rann is creating a self-fulfilling prophecy’, an unnamed lawyer employed by bikies said (cited in James 2008e). The second unintended effect was the formation of a bikie lobby and conciliation group: instead of dividing bikies, anti-bikie laws like the SOCC Act have had the effect of uniting them. As occurred in America, MCs in SA (and around Australia) negotiated with each other on the creation of an MC federation for 1% and 10% MCs. In November 2008, the UMC of SA was publicly launched to help resolve inter-club disputes, campaign against anti-bikie laws, and use public relations tactics to improve the public image of bikies (Shand 2011; Veno & Gannon 2009).
5.6
Conclusion
In adopting Lemert’s idea of the social control culture and the concept of the official agents of social control (1951), similar to the work of Cohen (2002), this chapter has illustrated the dominant social controls, as well as the various agents of social control, that worked to ‘remedy’ the bikie problem following the Tonic incident. The role of the control agents – the police, the judiciary and the legislature – was discussed, revealing that they each played vital roles in affirming the negative popular perceptions of bikies by acting on them through the sorts of control measures they imposed. The control measures that were implemented, and influenced by the ideological construction of the bikie problem, included the decisions to amend the Firearms Act and introduce the SOCC Act. Commenting on the link between ideology and action, Cohen rightly states that when a ‘problem’, like the bikie problem, is conceptualised as though it will recur, control agents feel ‘justified in taking elaborate and excessive precautionary measures’ (2002, p. 67). In addition to this connection between ideology and action, the measures 114
also demonstrated how the bikie problem had become a supranational issue, how the intensity of the controls had become more punitive, and how innovative these social controls were. Regardless of the rationale that the controls were aimed at bikies, many of them have left behind a legacy whereby they are open to use against individuals other than bikies and their associates. Moreover, they left the surprising legacy of resistance and camaraderie, as bikies became bound by their solidarity in establishing a bikie lobby and conciliation group under the UMC.
115
CONCLUSION
Synthesis This thesis has sought to answer the question: to what degree does Stan Cohen’s (2002) conceptual clarification of moral panic, as outlined in the third edition of his seminal text, explain the social reaction to the Tonic incident and the subsequent passing of the SOCC Act? The question required an assessment of Cohen’s concept of moral panic, and of whether the case study was illustrative of it. The thesis concludes that Cohen’s conceptualisation is of limited help in accounting for the enactment of the SOCC Act and that the passing of that Act was unlikely to be the result of a moral panic. The primary evidence used to reach this conclusion were newspaper texts from The Advertiser and Sunday Mail published during the research period (3 June 2007 to 15 May 2008) about bikies. These were subjected to the quantitative and qualitative methodologies of content and discourse analysis. The analysis was guided by three subsidiary research questions, which were addressed in Chapters 3 to 5: 1. Has the ‘threat’ posed by the ‘bikie problem’, and the incident at Tonic, been exaggerated, sensationalised or distorted, particularly by the media? (See Chapter 3) 2. How did moral entrepreneurs make sense of the Tonic incident and the ‘bikie problem’ during the research period? (See Chapter 4) 3. How did society, particularly the police, judiciary and legislature, respond to the Tonic incident and the ‘bikie problem’ during the research period? (See Chapter 5) These subsidiary questions and corresponding chapters were designed to analyse Cohen’s (2002) idea of moral panic. The answers to these questions articulated in the chapters are synthesised below.
116
Bikies have been considered a social problem since as early as 1947 when the ‘Hollister Riot’ occurred in America, and since the 1980s in Australia with events such as the Port Gawler shootout and the ‘Milperra Massacre’. Yet social concern over bikies – inferred through the level of media reporting – has been inconsistent through time (see subsection 3.1.2). However, while laws were implemented during the research period, which also indicate heightened social concern according to Goode and Ben-Yehuda (1994, p. 33), the degree of media reportage on bikies suggests that social concern was negligible.
Nonetheless, the reaction to bikie events over time has helped to foster folklore that portrays bikies as gangs of freedom-loving, hedonistic, criminal, hypermasculine ‘bad boys’, which was evident in the data sample. During the research period, assisting in perpetuating this negative folklore was widespread anti-bikie hostility that constructed bikies as posing a serious crime threat. This alleged threat was believed by some to be ‘the most serious threat to South Australia out of any organised crime’ (Government of SA 2008, p. 6), and similar to that posed by ‘terrorism’ (Owen 2007a; 2007b). The nature of the anti-bikie hostility in the public discourse was such that bikies were represented in ways that effectively scapegoated them for a range of so-called problems in SA. As far as moral entrepreneurs and the press were concerned, ‘bikie crimes’ posed a threat to the social order of SA.
Further, with regard to the reportage on the Tonic incident, exaggeration, sensationalisation and distortion were evident. These were demonstrated through sensationalist headlines, colourful descriptions, melodramatic tone, and the like. However, exaggeration, sensationalisation and distortion were primarily conveyed through the dominant stereotypes used in the initial reaction period following the Tonic incident: with newspapers carrying reports of bikie ‘gangs’, ‘outlaws’ and ‘criminals’. Together these stereotypes portrayed a hypermasculine image of bikies that has long been held in popular culture, embodying characteristics such as hedonism, freedom, machismo and risk-taking. The stereotypes that were used to help make sense of the Tonic incident during the initial reaction period provided a foundation for subsequent stages of social reaction. 117
Public discourse about bikies as being a threat has thus been exaggerated, sensationalised and distorted – not only during the initial reaction stage, but also throughout the research period, and beyond. This was demonstrated most powerfully in the qualitative data set out in Chapter 3 – particularly the admission of former SAPol Commissioner, Mal Hyde (cited in Baker 2011, p. 15) that bikies were not as serious threat as had been claimed by the Rann government. The work of Welch et al. (1997; 1998) has also provided evidence that suggests that crime reporting – in which bikie stories tend to fit – is based on moral entrepreneurs’ selective definitions of crime. Given that the media rely on the definitions provided by ‘primary’ and ‘secondary’ definers (Hall et al. 1978), a commonly agreed yet disproportionate and distorted view of street crime, and bikie crimes, is communicated, which implies that street crime is ‘the most costly, most dangerous, and most threatening form of crime’ (Welch et al. 1998, p. 223). Such bias is reflected in the under-reporting of ‘crimes of the powerful’, which is rooted in an ideologically driven falsity that has impacted on the (comparatively) disproportionate controls aimed at bikies during the research period. The same degree of hostile, disproportionate and punitive control measures that were targeted at bikies was not imposed against the ‘powerful’, such as politicians, police, the military and corporations. The myth that street crime is ‘the most costly, most dangerous, and most threatening form of crime’ (Welch et al. 1998, p. 223) was thus perpetuated not only by the way that the threat was defined, but also through the opinion and attitude themes articulated by moral entrepreneurs.
The anti-bikie hostility and folklore were guided by moral entrepreneurs comprising state managers, journalists, so-called experts, and the like, who through public discourse made ‘sense’ of the Tonic incident and the bikie problem. This research found that the emotional and/or intellectual standpoint through which the bikie problem was understood and communicated (as per the orientation subthemes) by moral entrepreneurs was as a problem that was likely to recur and possibly escalate (prediction). It was also popularly understood through the use of ‘war’ (the war orientation subtheme) rhetoric and metaphors, portraying society as being ‘at war’ with bikies. Further, opinions and attitudes about the behaviour of bikies (according to image 118
themes) were similar to the stereotypes conveyed in the initial reaction stage, particularly of MC members as ‘bikies’ who form ‘gangs’.
The more specific type of moral entrepreneurs, the experts, tried to make sense of the bikie problem by articulating ‘diagnoses’ and ‘remedies’. These socially accredited experts described the bikie problem as symptomatic of what they viewed as the ineffective laws and regulations at the time, of the deviant organisational structure and culture of the MCs, and of the Rann government’s apparent deficiencies. The dominant remedies proposed were legal reforms aimed at the criminalisation of bikies and their exclusion from participating in state-legitimised businesses.
Many of the moral entrepreneurs believed that the bikie problem posed a real threat to social (specifically, moral) order, and that something ought to be done about it. However, academic Dr Arthur Veno, and Democrats member in the SA Parliament, Sandra Kanck, challenged the widespread concern and consensus among moral entrepreneurs that was disproportionately focused on the bikie problem. At the same time, the head of the SA DPP, Stephen Pallaras, challenged the Rann government for not being harsh enough on bikies. The criticisms of Veno and Kanck were not enough to stop what was already emerging as a new social control culture.
The most notable social concern that arose during the research period came from the official agents of social control – the police, the judiciary and the legislature – who enacted a broad range of social controls. Although the most well-known of these was the passing of the SOCC Act, which was inspired by the federal anti-terrorism laws (McGarrity & Williams 2010; Appleby & Williams 2010; McGarrity 2012), this was not the only control implemented. ‘On-the-ground’ police used special police taskforces, shadowed bikie club runs, received new powers, ran a crime-gang phone-in campaign and conducted dramatic raids, among other initiatives targeting bikies. The judiciary also played a role, using a ‘fit and proper’ person test to ban people associated with bikies from being involved in businesses. The judiciary also permitted, upon appeal to the HCA, the use of secret evidence (that is, criminal intelligence) by police in 119
seeking to police bikies. In addition, the legislature introduced a number of new laws, alongside the SOCC Act, such as codifying riot and affray, criminalising social interactions with those deemed organised criminals and restricting behaviours. Other laws allowed police to ban people from places such as bars and Adelaide’s SkyCity casino, restricted the approval of gun licences to those who satisfy a ‘fit and proper’ person test, and compromised numerous traditional legal principles, such as the right to silence.
The control measures implemented were indicative of a whole-of-state approach to dealing with the bikie problem. Control agents also escalated their level of intervention in dealing with the problem through measures such as the introduction of the SOCC Act, which was founded on anti-terrorism legislation. Overall, these tactics showed a high level of innovation. Yet the controls implemented by the police, judiciary and legislature were hostile, and disproportionate to the actual or comparative threat bikies posed.
However, as is typically the case when social controls are hastily implemented, there were unforeseen consequences (Ayling 2013). Outside the research period, the most notable example of such consequences was the establishment of the United Motorcycle Council to challenge the anti-bikie laws and facilitate conciliation between MCs. Thus, instead of laws dividing bikies, the SOCC Act and other measures inspired bikies to unite.
Nonetheless, the general nature of the social controls that were implemented during the research period was punitive, embodied a pre-emptive approach to policing, and furthered the paramilitarisation of policing and society that are said to be increasingly common in some Western countries, including Australia (McCulloch 2001; Morgan et al. 2010; Graham 2010; Wolf 2007). If it were not for the ideological links between the specific tactics of social control and the dominant ways in which the bikie problem has been understood and conceptualised by moral entrepreneurs, it is doubtful that many of the controls implemented would have been developed. The most obvious 120
link between these control tactics and moral entrepreneurs’ conceptualisation of the bikie problem was evident in the implementation of the SOCC Act and in the framing of the bikie problem as a ‘war’.
Considering the above discussion highlighting what dimensions of Cohen’s moral panic concept were supported and what were not, the thesis concludes that despite the construction of bikies as folk devils during the research period, the SOCC Act did not result from a moral panic following the Tonic incident. In other words, no causative link of moral panic was identified between the Tonic incident and the passing of the SOCC Act.
Reasons and Explanations for the Conclusion Why the Tonic Incident Did Not Result in Moral Panic While it is clear that bikies were constructed as folk devils during the research period, similar to their construction in years previous and in other places, the enactment of the SOCC Act was not the result of what Cohen (2002) refers to as a moral panic arising from the Tonic incident. Four rationales or explanations underline this conclusion: the existence of only a marginal level of social concern over the incident and the bikie problem; the absence of moral indignation and ‘doomsday’ prophecies in articulations of the problem; the possible normalisation of the bikie problem; the inconsistent bikie crime narrative; and the lack of evidence in support of the phenomenon of deviancy amplification. These five reasons are fundamental to the conclusion that the SOCC Act did not result from a moral panic, as no such moral panic formed part of the social reaction to the Tonic incident.
The first reason lending weight to the conclusion reached in this thesis is the fact that there were little to no self-righteous moral indignation and no prophecies of doom espoused by moral entrepreneurs, which are important ideas in Cohen’s (2002) moral panic. Moral entrepreneurs used moralising discourse, conveying what they considered to be values that society held or should hold by associating bikies with ‘street crime’ 121
and terrorism. As was shown in this thesis, the bikie problem and the Tonic incident were predominantly articulated in a manner that blurred the distinction between the broader ‘crime problem’ and terrorism. Anti-bikie hostility, and the associated discourse that articulated the deviancy of bikies, was predominantly expressed in terms of criminalised behaviour, such as loan-sharking, illicit drug dealing and the intimidation of witnesses. A notable exception to this was the ‘war language’ adopted, particularly that which suggested that bikies are terrorists and that society was engaged in a ‘war against bikies’. In stigmatising bikies as being criminal, or as people with whom society is at war, moral entrepreneurs defined on behalf of society what constituted ‘good’ and ‘bad’, ‘right’ and ‘wrong’, ‘moral’ and ‘immoral’ behaviours through what the law deemed legal and illegal. While bikies typically were cast in a negative light in public discourses of crime, moral entrepreneurs were not specifically conveying or directing self-righteous moral indignation. Nor were they making statements prophesising that the end of society will come because of the threat that bikies apparently posed. Given this absence of moral indignation and prophecies of doom in the public discourse surrounding the Tonic incident and the bikie problem, it is clear that the two primary ingredients of moral panic (self-righteous moral indignation and concern over the end of society) was not found through an analysis of the data in this research.
The second explanation for the conclusion is somewhat speculative – that the little concern over the bikie problem and the Tonic incident was due to the public suffering to some degree from what I term ‘moral panic fatigue’. It is possible that, across time, and in other places, there may have been moral panic over bikies. Researchers such as Goode and Ben-Yehuda (1994) point out that the volatility of moral panics is similar to that seen in relation to fads. Like fads, moral panics cannot last for prolonged periods. They can leave behind institutional and cultural legacies (Cohen 2002; Goode & Ben-Yehuda 1994), but society and individuals cannot sustain a state of moral panic, as the energy and resources needed to do so is unsustainable. Moral panics, particularly those that recur through many episodes (such as responses to ‘sexual deviancy’) run the risk of being perceived as a situation similar to that in ‘the boy who cried wolf’ fable (see Croxall 1805, p. 263). It is believed that this is what may have occurred in regards to the Tonic incident: that the citizens of SA experienced 122
moral panic fatigue and scepticism about the bikie problem and the Tonic incident, therefore expressing only limited social concern over these matters.
The third reason for the conclusions reached in relation to the bikie problem and the Tonic incident relates to the limited discursive consensus found among moral entrepreneurs. As is suggested in moral panic research, there needs to be widespread conformity not only in terms of the view ‘that the threat exists, is serious and that “something should be done”’ (Cohen 2002, p. xxii; see Goode & Ben-Yehuda 1994, p. 33), but also in the form of a widespread consensus in the hostile and punitive discourse. While there was such widespread consensus among moral entrepreneurs and other sources that bikies were a problem which had to be addressed, the public discourse was notably fragmented. On the one hand, bikies were being understood and discussed predominantly in crime terms; and on the other, they were being discussed in ‘war’ and ‘counter-terrorism’ terms. Both perspectives were evident, albeit the crime discourse more consistently than the other, suggesting that a clear and consistent narrative or frame to discuss and understand bikies and the bikie problem was lacking. Despite this inconsistency, the SOCC Act, which was largely inspired by the federal anti-terrorism laws (McGarrity & Williams 2010; Appleby & Williams 2010; McGarrity 2012), was enacted, indicating an emerging status quo that bikies are akin to terrorists. Yet the fragmentation and inconsistency within the narrative and public discourse about bikies may also suggest a point of social or institutional transition – a path towards dealing with ‘undesirables’ or ‘social problems’ in counter-terrorist terms similar to the American approach to policing street gangs and animal rights activists (see ‘The People v. Edgar Morales, No. 186’ 2012; Sorenson 2009)
The lack of evidence supporting the idea of deviancy amplification is the final basis for the conclusion reached. Cohen’s moral panic concept was borne of a fusion of labelling theory, cultural politics and critical sociology (Cohen 2002, p. xxii), and symbolic interactionism (McRobbie & Thornton 1995, p. 560). However, moral panic draws on what we know today as social constructionism, claims-making, and media and cultural studies (Cohen 2002, pp. xxii-xxv). Nowhere are these influences stronger than in one of the central tenets of Cohen’s conceptualisation of moral panic: deviancy 123
amplification. As quoted in Chapter 1, deviancy amplification is where ‘almost independent of the deviance, the reactors amplified the situation’ (Cohen 2002, p. 118), which in turn ends up in a feedback loop of demonisation, reaction and the enactment or correction of social controls. However, there was no specific evidence of this occurring with regards to bikies during the research period because what was under study was not the social reaction to the bikie problem over a period of decades, but rather during a specific episode in this long saga: the Tonic incident. What the object of moral panic research is – whether it be a condition (like the bikie problem in its entirety) or an episode of a condition (like the Tonic incident) – can impact on the findings (or lack thereof) relating to deviancy amplification, which is an important feature of Cohen’s moral panic concept (2002).
Limitations of Moral Panic Research The timeframe of the inquiry, the specific moral panic model or conceptualisation used, the way in which content and discourse analysis is undertaken, and whether the object of study is a condition or an episode of a condition are matters that can impact on the conclusions reached by moral panic researchers. The factors that were identified in this thesis serve a broader purpose in highlighting questions for moral panic researchers generally.
The decision over the period of research and analysis entails striking a balance between what is practical and the potential knowledge that can be obtained or produced. Moral panic research, particularly that which relies on media sources, requires a timeframe for collection. The selection of a research period cannot be arbitrary, but needs to be based on sound reasoning. The choice of research period, however, can impact on the conclusions reached when establishing whether or not something is indeed a case of moral panic. In relation to this study, the decision on the dates for the research period (3 June 2007 – 15 May 2008) was grounded in sound logic (see Chapter 2). However, if the start date of the research period were pushed back to the date of the other flashpoint cited by (then) SA Attorney-General, Michael Atkinson, in the Second Reading Speech of the SOCC Bill – the Wright Street (Adelaide, SA) shootings (8 124
October 1999) (Atkinson, cited in Parliament of SA 2007b, p. 1805) – the same conclusion may not have been reached. In other words, if the research period had been broadened, would the conclusion still be that there was no moral panic? And of course the same question can be asked in regards to other moral panic studies.
Along with the specific research period chosen, the specific moral panic model or conceptualisation adopted can also impact on the conclusion reached. In Chapter 1 a number of key debates pertaining to moral panic research were laid out. The chapter highlighted the different ‘models’ of moral panic: procedural, which Cohen’s (1987; 2002) is popularly thought to represent (see Klocke & Muschert 2010; 2013); elemental, which Goode and Ben-Yehuda’s work represents (Goode & Ben-Yehuda 1994; see also Klocke & Muschert 2010, p. 301; 2013, p. 419); modified hybrid, exemplified by Klocke and Muschert’s work (2010; 2013); descriptive, which Shand (2011) and Barker (2007) epitomise; and hybrid, which the third edition of Cohen’s (2002) seminal text represents. Arguably, the one model that has a lower conceptual or analytical standard of evidence is the descriptive model. In contrast, the most difficult models to utilise are the hybrid and modified hybrid ones, as the amount of ‘boxes’ that need to be ‘ticked’ in order to successfully demonstrate that a particular case is indeed a moral panic are large. Given that the researcher chose to follow one of the more difficult moral panic models, a hybrid model, it may be the case that if another model, such as the descriptive one, had been used, the conclusion reached would have been fundamentally different. This means that the moral panic model chosen by researchers can impact greatly on the conclusion reached.
Another key factor that can affect the results of research is the method of data analysis chosen. Similar to most other moral panic studies, the quantitative and qualitative methods of content and discourse analysis were used in the present research. It was decided that manual analysis of the research sample would be undertaken in order to understand the context, patterns and relationships between words and phrases. Content and textual analysis software (as that used in Lundström 2011) is not well suited to this task. However, the price paid for taking such an approach is, as Neuendorf (2004, p. 34) and Crawford (2004, p. 24) have argued with regard to discourse analysis, 125
that the results may be unreliable and the product of the researcher’s biases, and influenced by human error, mood, patience, attention to detail, and the like. These criticisms are valid. However, given that the moral panic concept concerns things such as the social factors that produce discourse and the relationships between words and phrases, the limitations of using discourse analysis need to be tolerated and worked through to the best of the individual researcher’s ability for the foreseeable future.
Final Remarks This research must be seen as situated within the broader body of moral panic research that has been growing since the concept was popularised by Cohen’s Folk devils and moral panics, first published in 1972. Even though the study found that the object of inquiry – the social reaction to the Tonic incident, which was the apparent impetus for the enactment of the SOCC Act – did not constitute what Cohen would call a moral panic (2002), a pressing question remains: if it were not a moral panic, then what was it? Some potential responses to this question may be that the reaction was a demonstration of the ‘risk society’ that is said to characterise our modern social existence (Beck 1992); an example of the theoretical perspective of ‘agenda-setting’ (Collins 2012); can be explained by the concepts of ‘penal populism’ (Roberts et al. 2003) and the ‘new punitiveness’ (Pratt et al. 2005), similar to what Morgan et al. (2010) conclude in their study on the NSW anti-bikie laws; or is possibly an example of the growing paramilitarisation of policing and society (McCulloch 2001; Graham 2010; Morgan et al. 2010), function creep, or the normalisation of exceptional measures (Flyghed 2002; McGarrity 2012; McGarrity & Williams 2010; Appleby & Williams 2010). These ideas point to avenues for future research.
Although moral panic research is large in volume, this thesis has managed to be relatively unique and valuable, both academically and practically. This thesis’s academic uniqueness and value lies in its use of Cohen’s clarified conceptualisation (2002), in not being a confirmatory piece of moral panic research, and in its use of Cohen’s conceptualisation in an analytical way. In addition, this study can be seen to exemplify what Wright calls ‘emancipatory knowledge’ (2010), as it provides insights 126
into how oppression and social control function – namely, their relationship to ideology, public discourse and media representation – which are useful for social ‘undesirables’ in their performance of agency and resistance. In this sense, the emancipatory knowledge produced by this research directly responds to the famous question Becker posed to social researchers in the radical period of the 1960s: ‘Whose side are we on?’ (1967).
This thesis has demonstrated a number of outstanding issues pertaining to both the concept of moral panic and the method by which it is usually explored and implemented. The questions around whether to engage with the conceptual clarifications Cohen made in the third edition of his seminal text (2002), or whether to continue to ignore it or merely pay lip-service to it; what is considered to be a significant degree of social concern and how this is best measured; what is meant by disproportionate social concern and reaction, and how can this be measured; and the effectiveness of content and discourse analysis as a methodology for the undertaking of moral panic research are core outstanding matters that continue to hold moral panic research back. These issues were highlighted in particular in the literature review presented in Chapter 1, and in this Conclusion. However, while these issues need to be boldly, and collaboratively, worked through by moral panic researchers in order to further the concept, it may be time for a new era in moral panic research – one in which confirmatory moral panic is not what drives the understanding of the concept, but rather research that demonstrates the opposite. In other words, given the considerable lifespan of the concept of moral panic, perhaps it is time that researchers sought to define what moral panic is by what it is not.
127
LIST OF REFERENCES
‘150 police keep watch on bikies’ 2008, The Advertiser, 10 April, p. 23. Alberici, E 2010, ‘Australia needs to address productivity: Westacott’, Lateline, television
transcript,
ABC
TV,
viewed
23
May
2013,
http://www.abc.net.au/lateline/content/2012/s3520778.htm Allan, S 2010, News culture, Issues in cultural and media studies, 3rd edn, Open University Press, Burkshire. Altheide, D L 2009, Terror post-9/11 and the media, Global Crises and the Media series, Peter Lang, New York. Andrikidis, P (series producer) 2012, Bikie wars: brothers in arms, television series, Network Ten. Appleby, G & Williams, J 2010, ‘The anti-terror creep: law and order, the States and the High Court of Australia’, in N McGarrity, A Lynch & G Williams (eds), Counter-terrorism and beyond: the culture of law and justice after 9/11, Routledge research in terrorism and the law, Routledge, New York. Australian Crime Commission (ACC) 2011, Crime profile series: outlaw motorcycle gangs,
fact
sheet,
viewed
22
May
2013,
http://www.crimecommission.gov.au/sites/default/files/files/omcgs.pdf Ayling, J 2011, ‘Pre-emptive strike: how Australia is tackling outlaw motorcycle gangs’, American Journal of Criminal Justice, vol. 36, no. 3, pp. 250-64. —— 2013a, Going Dutch? Comparing approaches to preventing organised crime in Australia and the Netherlands, online document, viewed 22 May 2013, http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/Delivery.cfm/SSRN_ID2247758_code366735.pdf?a bstractid=2247758&mirid=1 —— 2013b, ‘Haste makes waste: deliberative improvements for serious crime legislation’, Australian & New Zealand Journal of Criminology, vol. 46, no. 1, pp. 12-31. Baker, D 2011, ‘Interview with commissioner May Hyde’, in O Marenin & D K Das (eds), Trends in policing: interviews with police leaders across the globe, vol. 3, CRC Press, Boca Raton, pp. 1-22. 128
Barker, T 2007, Bikie gangs and organized crime, Anderson Publishing, Newark. Bartels, L 2010, Research in practice 2: the status of laws on outlaw motorcycle gangs in Australia, 2nd edn, report, Australian Institute of Criminology, Australian Government,
viewed
8
May
2013,
http://www.aic.gov.au/media_library/publications/rip/rip02_v2.pdf Beck, U 1992, Risk society: towards a new modernity, Sage Publications, London. Becker, H S 1963, Outsiders: studies in the sociology of deviance, The Free Press, New York. —— 1967, ‘Whose side are we on?’, Social Problems, vol. 14, no. 3, pp. 239-47. ‘Bikie laws: police concerns’ 2007, The Advertiser, 4 July, p. 24. ‘Club directors “unfit” for license’ 2007, The Advertiser, 10 October, p. 7. Benedek, L (dir) 1953, The wild one, motion picture, Columbia Pictures, United States. Bessant, J & Watts, R 2002, Sociology Australia, 2nd edn, Allen & Unwin, Crows Nest. Boëthius, U 1995, ‘Youth, the media and moral panics’, in J Fornäs & G Bolin (eds), Youth culture in late modernity, Sage Publications, London, pp. 39-57. Bonn, S A 2010, Mass deception: moral panic and the US war on Iraq, Rutgers University Press, London. Bronitt, S & McSherry, B 2005, Principles of criminal law, 2nd edn, Thomson Lawbook Co., Sydney. Childress, J F 2001, ‘The war metaphor in public policy: some moral reflections’, in J C Ficarrotta (ed), The leader’s imperative: ethics, integrity and responsibility, ebook, Purdue University, West Lafayette, viewed 26 December 2012, http://docs.lib.purdue.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1007&context=press_ebo oks, pp. 181-97. Cohen, A 1965, ‘The sociology of the Deviant Act: anomie theory and beyond’, American Sociological Review, vol. 30, no. 1, pp. 5-14. Cohen, S 1987, Folk devils & moral panics: the creation of mods and rockers, 2nd edn, Blackwell Publishers, Oxford. —— 2002, Folk devils & moral panics: the creation of mods and rockers, 3rd edn, Routledge, London. —— 2011, ‘Whose side were we on? The undeclared politics of moral panic theory’, Crime, Media, Culture: An International Journal, vol. 7, no. 3, pp. 237-43. Collins, V E 2012, ‘Dangerous seas: moral panic and the Somali pirate’, Australian & New Zealand Journal of Criminology, vol. 46, no. 1, pp. 106-32. 129
Connell, R W 1995, Masculinities, Allen & Unwin, Sydney. Coulthart, R & McNab, D 2011, Above the law: how outlaw motorcycle gangs established the world’s biggest criminal empire, Allen & Unwin, Crows Nest. ‘Court appeal: bikie fortress remains in place’ 2007, The Advertiser, 8 August, p. 11. Crawford, N C 2004, ‘Understanding discourse: a method of ethical argument analysis’, Qualitative Methods, vol. 2, no. 1, pp. 22-5. CrimTrack
2011,
‘About
us’,
viewed
22
May
2013,
http://www.crimtrac.gov.au/about_us/ Critcher, C 2002, ‘Media, government and moral panic: the politics of paedophilia in Britain 2000-1’, Journalism Studies, vol. 3, no. 4, pp. 521-35. —— 2003, Moral panics and the media, Issues in cultural and media studies, Open University Press, Buckingham. —— 2009, ‘Widening the focus: moral panics as moral regulation’, The British Journal of Criminology, vol. 49, no. 1, pp. 17-34. —— 2011, ‘For a political economy of moral panics’, Crime, Media, Culture: An International Journal, vol. 7, no. 3, pp. 259-75. Croxall, S 1805, Fables of Æsop and others, 17th edn, e-book, J Crowder Printer, Warwick-Square, http://books.google.com.au/books?id=18EDAAAAQAAJ&printsec=frontcover &source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false ‘CSI Adelaide: shooters brought wild west to town’ 2007, The Advertiser, 23 June, p. 46. Cuddihy, M 2012, ‘Rinehart accused of inciting moral panic’, ABC News, ABC, viewed 23 May 2013, http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-09-05/rinehart-accused-ofinciting-moral-panic/4245100 Cunneen, C, Findlay, M, Lynch, R & Tupper, V 1989, Dynamics of collective conflict: riots at the Bathurst bike races, The Law Book Company, North Ryde. Dagistanli, S 2007, ‘“Like a pack of wild animals”: moral panics around “ethnic” gang rape in Sydney’, in S Poynting & G Morgan (eds), Outrageous! Moral panics in Australia, ACYS Publishing, Hobart, pp. 67-81. David, M, Rohloff, A, Petley, J & Hughes, J 2011, ‘The idea of moral panic: ten dimensions of dispute’, Crime, Media, Culture: An International Journal, vol. 7, no. 3, pp. 215-28. 130
der Heide, E A 2004, ‘Common misconceptions about disasters: panic, the “disaster syndrome,” and looting’, in M O’Leary (ed.), The first 72 hours: a community approach to disaster preparedness, iUniverse, Lincoln, pp. 337-77. deYoung, M 2013, ‘Considering the agency of folk devils’, in C Krinsky (ed), The Ashgate research companion to moral panics, Ashgate Publishing, Farnham, pp. 141-61. Donson, F, Chesters, G, Welsh, I & Tickle, A 2004, ‘Rebels with a cause, folk devils without a panic: press jingoism, policing tactics and anti-capitalist protest in London and Prague’, Internet Journal of Criminology, viewed 22 May 2013, http://www.internetjournalofcriminology.com/Donson et al - Folkdevils.pdf Dreher, T 2007, ‘Contesting Cabramatta: moral panic and media intervention in Australia’s heroin capital’, in S Poynting & G Morgan (eds), Outrageous! Moral panics in Australia, ACYS Publishing, Hobart, pp. 111-24. Dulaney, W L 2007, ‘A more complete history of the outlaw clubs’, in A Veno & K Sims (eds), The mammoth book of bikers, Running Press, US, pp. 127-36. Durkheim, E 1938, The rules of sociological method, trans. SA Solovay & JH Mueller, GEG Catlin (ed), The Free Press, New York. Evan, R 2007, ‘“…To try to ruin”: rock‘n’roll, youth culture and law‘n’order in Brisbane, 1956–1957’, in S Poynting & G Morgan (eds), Outrageous! Moral panics in Australia, ACYS Publishing, Hobart, pp. 111-24. Faris, P 2007, ‘Draconian legal remedies are needed’, Sunday Mail, 24 June, p. 42. Flyghed, J 2002, ‘Normalising the exceptional: the case of political violence’, Policing & Society, vol. 13, no. 1, pp. 23-41. Fowler, R 1991, Language in the news: discourse and ideology in the press, Routledge, London. Fuglsang, R 2007, ‘800 pounds of steel’, in A Veno & K Sims, The mammoth book of bikers, Running Press, Philadelphia, pp. 12-22. Galtung, J & Ruge, M 1973, ‘Structuring and selecting news’, in S Cohen & J Young (eds), The manufacture of news: social problems, deviance and the mass media, Communication and society series, Constable, London. Garfinkel, H 1956, ‘Conditions of successful degradation ceremonies’, The American Journal of Sociology, vol. 61, no. 3, pp. 420-4. Garland, D 2008, ‘On the concept of moral panic’, Crime, Media, Culture: An International Journal, vol. 4, no. 1, pp. 9-30. 131
Gavin, T 2012, ‘Extending the reach of Kable: Wainohu v New South Wales’, Sydney Law Review, vol. 34, no. 2, pp. 395-410. Gibbon, J A, Lukowski, A F & Walker, W R 2005, ‘Exposure increases the believability of unbelievable news headlines via elaborate cognitive processing’, Media Psychology, vol. 7, no. 3, pp. 273-300. Goffman, E 1961, Asylums: essays on the social situation of mental patients and other inmates, Penguin, Harmondsworth. —— 1963, Stigma: notes of the management of spoiled identity, Penguin, Harmondsworth. Goode, E & Ben-Yehuda, N 1994, Moral panics: the social construction of deviance, Blackwell Publishers, Oxford. —— 2009, Moral panics: the social construction of deviance, 2nd edn, WileyBlackwell Publishers, Oxford. Government of South Australia 2008, Australian Crime Commission Parliamentary Joint Committee: Inquiry into the legislative arrangements to outlaw serious and organised crime: Submission of the South Australian Government, online document,
viewed
23
May
2013,
http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate_Committee s?url=acc_ctte/completed_inquiries/2008-10/laoscg/submissions/sub13.pdf Graham, S 2010, Cities under siege: the new military urbanism, Verso, London. Griffiths, R 2010, ‘The gothic folk devils strike back! Theorising folk devil reaction in the post-Columbine era’, Journal of Youth Studies, vol. 13, no. 3, pp. 403-22. Gusfield, J R 1963, Symbolic crusade: status politics and the American temperance movement, University of Illinois Press, Urbana. Hall, S, Critcher, C, Jefferson, T, Clarke, J & Roberts, B 1978, Policing the crisis: mugging, the state and law and order, Macmillan Press, London. Hardy, C, Harley, B & Phillips, N 2004, ‘Discourse analysis and content analysis: two solitudes?’, Qualitative Methods, vol. 2, no. 1, pp. 15-9. Henderson, N 2007, ‘No total ban, but bikie laws get new teeth’, The Advertiser, 6 July, p. 7. —— 2008a, ‘Expert says hit “not surprising”’, The Advertiser, 12 February, p. 12. —— 2008b, ‘Anti-bikie measures called “draconian”’, The Advertiser, 28 March, p. 2. Herd, G (ed) 2009, Moral panics, sex panics: fear and the fight over sexual rights, New York University Press, New York. 132
High Court of Australia (HCA) 2008, Gypsy Jokers Motorcycle Club Incorporated v Commissioner of Police, fact sheet, 7 February, viewed 22 May 2013, http://www.hcourt.gov.au/assets/publications/judgment-summaries/2008/hca42008-02-7.pdf Hopf, T 2004, ‘Discourse and content analysis: some fundamental incompatibilities’, Qualitative Methods, vol. 2, no. 1, pp. 31-3. Horsfield, P 1997, ‘Moral panic or moral action? The appropriation of moral panics in the exercise of social control’, Media International Australia, no. 85, pp. 32-39. Hunt, A 2013, ‘Assemblages of moral politics: yesterday and today’, in C Krinsky (ed), The Ashgate research companion to moral panics, Ashgate Publishing, Farnham, pp. 55-66. Hunt, A 1997, ‘“Moral panic” and moral language in the media’, British Journal of Sociology, vol. 48, no. 4, pp. 629-48. Hunt, N 2007a, ‘Secrets out: stolen police documents given to bikies’, Sunday Mail, 3 June, p. 1. —— 2007b, ‘Treat bikies like Triads – DPP’, Sunday Mail, 10 June, p. 1. —— 2007c, ‘DPP: use Triad laws to beat the bikies’, Sunday Mail, 10 June, p. 4. —— 2007d, ‘Don’t use terror laws, warns DPP’, Sunday Mail, 10 June, p. 10. —— 2007e, ‘Police-files thief a career criminal’, Sunday Mail, 10 June, p. 11. —— 2007f, ‘Organised crime blitz: police demand new powers’, Sunday Mail, 10 June, p. 26. —— 2007g, ‘Elite unit to fight gangs: police plan to stay “a step ahead”’, Sunday Mail, 22 July, p. 5. —— 2007h, ‘How my $10,000 debt grew to $½m’, Sunday Mail, 29 July, p. 5. —— 2007i, ‘Be careful, says police’, Sunday Mail, 29 July, p. 5. —— 2007j, ‘Extortion “tip of the iceberg”’, Sunday Mail, 5 August, p. 2. —— 2007k, ‘Charged bikie trio quit gang: new laws turn up heat’, Sunday Mail, 7 October, p. 7. —— 2007l, ‘Locals fear new bike stronghold’, Sunday Mail, 21 October, p. 9. —— 2007m, ‘Police taskforce shadows gangs’, Sunday Mail, 4 November, p. 24. James, C 2007a, ‘Police vow to wipe out bikies’, The Advertiser, 30 October, p. 1. —— 2007b, ‘Police vow to wipe out bikie gangs’, The Advertiser, 30 October, p. 6.
133
—— 2008a, ‘Tip-offs: “the police, the government and the community are not prepared to put up with their behaviour”: heat turning up on gangsters’, The Advertiser, 2 February, pp. 48-9. —— 2008b, ‘As Rann tries to ban bikies a democrat lets them in’, The Advertiser, 9 February, p. 15. —— 2008c, ‘Battling a new breed of bikie outlaws’, The Advertiser, 6 March, p. 19. —— 2008d, ‘Hotels on alert for bikie-run teen drug gangs’, The Advertiser, 10 March, p. 7. —— 2008e, ‘Street gangs queue to become “outlaws”’, The Advertiser, 24 March, p. 14. —— 2008f, ‘New menace: mindless young criminals show no mercy in their attempts to dominate the city’s drug trafficking: police fear an outbreak of gang warfare’, The Advertiser, 10 May, pp. 20-1. —— 2008g, ‘Bikie left nightclub with loaded pistol’, The Advertiser, 14 May, p. 23. James, C, Vaughan, J & Milnes, M 2008a, ‘Underbelly of Adelaide’, The Advertiser, 6 May, p. 1. —— 2008b, ‘Youths a target in city’s “underbelly”’, The Advertiser, 6 May, p. 2. James, C &Watson, C 2008, ‘Adults lead street gangs to violence’, The Advertiser, 20 February, pp. 1, 6. Jenkins, P 2009, ‘Failure to launch: why do some social issues fail to detonate moral panics?’, British Journal of Criminology, vol. 49, no. 1, pp. 35-47. Jenks, C 2011, ‘The content of an emergent and enduring concept’, Crime, Media, Culture: An International Journal, vol. 7, no. 3, pp. 229-36. Jewkes, Y 2011, Media & crime, Key approaches to criminology, SAGE Publications, London. Johnson, C A 2000, Blowback: the costs and consequences of American empire, Metropolitan Books, New York. Jones, P 1997, ‘Moral panic: the legacy of Stan Cohen and Stuart Hall’, Media International Australia, no. 85, pp. 6-16. Kabir, N 2007, ‘The Afghan other’, in S Poynting & G Morgan (eds), Outrageous! Moral panics in Australia, ACYS Publishing, Hobart, pp. 148-57. Keller, C & O’Donohue, D 2007, ‘Nightclub’s $500,000 security cordon’, The Advertiser, 4 June, p. 9. 134
Kelly, M 2007, ‘Rule of law right of all: bikies included’, The Advertiser, 11 June, p. 20. Kelton, G 2007, ‘Unified push to deal with bikie gangs’, The Advertiser, 29 June, p. 23. —— 2008a, ‘Drama sparks special debate on rebel gangs’, The Advertiser, 12 February, pp. 12-3. —— 2008b, ‘Lawyers’ alarm at proposed bikie law’, The Advertiser, 8 March, p. 41. Kirtley, C 2010, Seeking asylum in Australia: newspaper representations and moral panic discourses, honours thesis, Monash University, Melbourne. Klocke, B V & Muschert, G W 2010, ‘A hybrid model of moral panics: synthesizing moral panic research’, Sociology Compass, vol. 4, no. 5, pp. 295-309. —— 2013, ‘Practicing moral panic research: a hybrid model with guidelines for its application’, in C Krinsky (ed), The Ashgate research companion to moral panics, Ashgate Publishing, Farnham, pp. 415-28 Krinsky, C 2013, ‘Introduction: the moral panic concept’, in C Krinsky (ed), The Ashgate research companion to moral panics, Ashgate Publishing, Farnham, pp. 1-14. Kyriacou, K 2007a, ‘Bikie fright nights’, Sunday Mail, 10 June, pp. 42, 79. —— 2007b, ‘Let “police intimidate outlaws”’, Sunday Mail, 10 June, p. 79. —— 2007c, ‘Nightclub shut over shooting: threat too great – owner’, Sunday Mail, 15 July, p. 13. Kyriacou, K, Hunt, N & Castello, R 2007a, ‘Bikie ambush: ten shots, 4 hurt in city’s wild west’, Sunday Mail, 3 June, pp. 6-7. —— 2007b, ‘Fink killed in car crash’, The Advertiser, 30 September, p. 13. Laffey, M & Weldes, J 2004, ‘Methodological reflections on discourse analysis’, Qualitative Methods, vol. 2, no. 1, pp. 28-30. Lakoff, G 1991, Metaphor and war: the metaphor system used to justify war in the gulf, online
document,
viewed
1
May
2013,
http://georgelakoff.files.wordpress.com/2011/04/metaphor-and-war-themetaphor-system-used-to-justify-war-in-the-gulf-lakoff-1991.pdf —— 2003, ‘Metaphor and war, again’, online article, AlterNet, viewed 26 December 2012, http://www.alternet.org/story/15414/metaphor_and_war,_again Lemert, E C 1951, Social pathology: a systematic approach to the theory of sociopathic behaviour, McGraw-Hill Book Company, New York. 135
Lane, S 2013, ‘State rebuff proposed federal anti-gang laws’, PM, radio transcript, ABC Radio
National,
6
March,
viewed
8
May
2013,
http://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2013/s3709543.htm?site=sydney Levi, M 2009, ‘Suite revenge? The shaping of folk devils and moral panics about whitecollar crimes’, The British Journal of Criminology, vol. 49, no. 1, pp. 48-67. Lowe, W 2004, ‘Content analysis and its place in the (methodological) scheme of things’, Qualitative Methods, vol. 2, no. 1, pp. 25-27. Lumby, C 1997, ‘Panic attacks: old fears in a new media era’, Media International Australia, no. 85, pp. 40-46. Lundström, R 2011, ‘Between the exceptional and the ordinary: a model for the comparative analysis of moral panics and moral regulation’, Crime, Media, Culture: An International Journal, vol. 7, no. 3, pp. 313-32. Mandes, J 2010, ‘Inside the bikie bunker’, Hungry Beast, ABC, online video, 24 March, viewed 22 May 2013, http://www.abc.net.au/tv/hungrybeast/stories/inside-bikiebunker/index.html Marsh, I & Melville, G 2011, ‘Moral panics and the British media: a look at some contemporary “folk devils”’, Internet Journal of Criminology, viewed 4 May 2011, http://www.internetjournalofcriminology.com/Marsh_Melville_Moral_Panics_a nd_the_British_Media_March_2011.pdf May, T 2001, Social research: issues, methods and process, 3rd edn, Open University Press, Buckingham. McCulloch, J 1996, ‘Blue murder: press coverage of fatal police shootings in Victoria’, Australian & New Zealand Journal of Criminology, vol. 29, no. 2, pp. 102-20. —— 2001, Blue army: paramilitary policing in Australia, Melbourne University Press, Carlton South. McGarrity, N 2012, ‘From terrorism to bikies: control orders in Australia’, Alternative Law Journal, vol. 37, no. 3, pp. 166-70. McGarrity, N & Williams, G 2010, ‘When extraordinary measures become normal: preemption in counter-terrorism and other laws’, in N McGarrity, A Lynch & G Williams (eds), Counter-terrorism and beyond: the culture of law and justice after 9/11, Routledge research in terrorism and the law, Routledge, New York.
136
McGovern, A & Lee, M 2010, ‘“Cop[ying] it sweet”: police media units and the making of news’, Australian & New Zealand Journal of Criminology, vol. 43, no. 3, pp. 444-64. McLuhan, M 1964, Understanding media: the extensions of man, Routledge, London. McNally, M M 2008, Trial by circumstance: is identity theft a modern-day moral panic?, postdoctoral thesis, The State University of New Jersey, Rutgers, (online Proquest Dissertations & Theses Full Text). McRobbie, A & Thornton, S L 1995, ‘Rethinking “moral panic” for multi-mediated social worlds’, The British Journal of Sociology, vol. 46, no. 4, pp. 559-74. Milne, G 2007, ‘PMs backing’, Sunday Mail, 22 July, p. 5. Moor, K 2008, ‘Gangs “infiltrate” ports’, The Advertiser, 7 April, p. 2. Morgan, G 1997, ‘The Bulletin and the larrikin: moral panic in late nineteenth century Sydney’, Media International Australia, no. 85, pp. 17-23. Morgan, G, Dagistanli, S & Martin, G 2010, ‘Global fears, local anxiety: policing, counterterrorism and moral panic over “bikie gang wars” in New South Wales’, Australian & New Zealand Journal of Criminology, vol. 43, no. 3, pp. 580-99. Morgan, G & Poynting, S 2012, ‘Introduction: the transnational folk devil’, in G Morgan & S Poynting (eds), Global Islamophobia: Muslims and moral panic in the West, Ashgate Global Connections series, pp. 1-14. Nankervis, D 2007, ‘Roadside cameras on bikies’, Sunday Mail, 4 November, p. 24. Neuendorf, K A 2004, ‘Content analysis: a contrast and complement to discourse analysis’, Qualitative Methods, vol. 2, no. 1, pp. 33-35. Noble, G 2012, ‘Where’s the moral in moral panic? Islam, evil and moral turbulence’, in G Morgan & S Poynting (eds), Global Islamophobia: Muslims and moral panic in the West, Ashgate Global Connections series, pp. 215-232. Okoronkwo, N N 2008, ‘The phenomena of black youth crime and how black youths are portrayed in the United Kingdom: whether the portrayal can be considered exaggerated, or if the moral panic is in someway justified?’, Internet Journal of Criminology,
viewed
4
May
2011,
http://www.internetjournalofcriminology.com/Ndubuisi - Phenomena of Black Youth and Media Reporting.pdf Owen, M 2007a, ‘It’s just like war of terror, says Rann’, The Advertiser, 20 June, p. 5. —— 2007b, ‘Rann wants national laws to beat gangs’, The Advertiser, 20 June, p. 5. ‘Owner pleads for help’ 2007, Sunday Mail, 3 June, p. 7. 137
Parliament of South Australia 2007a, Parliamentary debates: House of Assembly: official Hansard, 5 June, pp. 299–305. —— 2007b, Parliamentary debates: House of Assembly: official Hansard, 21 November, pp. 1803–18. —— 2008a, Parliamentary debates: House of Assembly: official Hansard, 4 March, pp. 2339–41. —— 2008b, Parliamentary debates: Legislative Council: official Hansard, 5 March, pp. 2013–5, 2051–66. —— 2008c, Parliamentary debates: House of Assembly: official Hansard, 26 November, pp. 1072–8. Parliamentary Joint Committee on the Australian Crime Commission 2009, Inquiry into the legislative arrangements to outlaw serious and organized crime groups, Commonwealth
of
Australia,
viewed
9
May
2013,
http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate_Committee s?url=acc_ctte/completed_inquiries/2008-10/laoscg/report/report.pdf Peddie, C 2007, ‘Interpol: organised crime behind illegal animal trade – wildlife terrorists’, The Advertiser, 30 November, p. 3. Poynting, S & Morgan, G 2007, ‘Introduction’, in S Poynting & G Morgan (eds), Outrageous! Moral panics in Australia, ACYS Publishing, Hobart, pp. 1-10. Poynting, S, Noble, G, Tabar, P & Collins, J 2004, Bin Laden in the suburbs: criminalizing the Arab other, Sydney Institute of Criminology series, Sydney Institute of Criminology, Sydney. Pratt, J, Brown, D, Brown, M, Hallsworth, S & Morrison, W (eds) 2005, The new punitiveness: trends, theories, perspectives, Willan Publishing, Cullompton. Redfern, L 1997, ‘Moral panic or moral action? The appropriation of moral panics in the exercise of social control’, Media International Australia, no. 85, pp. 47-55. Riches, S 2007a, ‘Secret documents: police dismiss tip-off claim – files theft “random”’, The Advertiser, 4 June, p. 8. —— 2007b, ‘Plea for laws: our hands are tied, police warn – outlaw bikies’ war “will only get worse”’, The Advertiser, 4 June, p. 9 —— 2007c, ‘Bikie feared to have fled interstate’, The Advertiser, 5 June, p. 10. —— 2007d, ‘Youths targeted in war on bikies’, The Advertiser, 14 August, p. 13. Roach, K 2010, ‘The eroding distinction between intelligence and evidence in terrorism cases’, in N McGarrity, A Lynch & G Williams, Counter-terrorism and beyond: 138
the culture of law and justice after 9/11, Routledge research in terrorism and the law, Routledge, New York, pp. 48-68. Roberts, J V, Stalans, L J, Indermaur, D & Hough, M 2003, Penal populism and public opinion: lessons from five countries, Oxford University Press, New York. Rowe, J 2007, ‘Heroin epidemic! Drugs and moral panic in the Western suburbs of Melbourne 1995–1996’, in S Poynting & G Morgan (eds), Outrageous! Moral panics in Australia, ACYS Publishing, Hobart, pp. 99-110. Rubinsztein-Dunlop, S 2012, ‘Anti-bikies law catches unlikely target’, 7:30, television broadcast
transcript,
ABC,
27
August,
viewed
8
May
2013,
http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2012/s3544879.htm ‘Saturday 4.30am outside a city nightclub. Two gunmen, 10 shots, four bikies wounded – but to one of them and his mates it’s all a bit of a laugh’, Sunday Mail, 3 June, p. 1. Schneier, B 2003, Beyond fear: thinking sensibly about security in an uncertain world, Copernicus Books, New York. Shand, A 2011, Outlaws: the truth about Australian bikers, Allen & Unwin, Crows Nest. Simpson, L & Harvey, S 2001, Brothers in arms: the inside story of two bikie gangs, 2nd edn, Allen & Unwin, Crows Nest. Small, C & Gilling, T 2011, Blood money: bikies, terrorists and Middle Eastern gangs, 2nd edn, Allen & Unwin, Melbourne. Smelser, N J 1962, Theory of collective behaviour, International library of sociology and social reconstruction, Routledge and Kegan Paul, London. Smithson, M 2008, ‘MPs’ bluster won’t put skids under bikies’, Sunday Mail, 17 February, p. 40. Soanes, C & Stevenson, A (eds) 2006, Concise Oxford English dictionary, Oxford University Press, Oxford. Sorenson, J 2009, ‘Constructing terrorists: propaganda about animal rights’, Critical Studies on Terrorism, vol. 2, no. 2, pp. 237-56. South Australia Police (SAPol) 2007a, Media release: shooting at Adelaide nightclub, media release, 2 June, Adelaide. —— 2007b, Morning media release, 4 June, Adelaide. —— 2007c, South Australia Police annual report 2006 / 2007, viewed 9 May 2013, http://www.police.sa.gov.au/public/download.jsp?id=45055 139
—— 2008a, Media release: phone in on crime gangs, 29 January, Adelaide. —— 2008b, Media release: BankSA crime stoppers crime gang phone in, 31 January, Adelaide. ——
2008c,
Annual
report
2007–08,
viewed
9
May
2013,
http://www.police.sa.gov.au/public/download.jsp?id=48581 —— 2011, Major crime investigation branch, South Australia Police, 8 November, viewed
22
May
2013,
http://www.police.sa.gov.au/sapol/about_us/structure/crime_service/major_crim e_investigation_branch.jsp Stauber, J & Rampton, S 1995, Toxic sludge is good for you: lies, damn lies and the public relations industry, Common Courage Press, Monroe. Steinert, H 2003, ‘The indispensable metaphor of war: on populist politics and the contradictions of the state’s monopoly of force’, Theoretical Criminology, vol. 7, no. 3, pp. 265-291. Sternberg, J 1997, ‘Generation x: lifestyle panics and the new generation gap’, Media International Australia, no. 85, pp. 79-90. Sutton, M 1964, ‘The British moral panic creation myth is bust’, Best Thinking, viewed 30
September
2013,
http://www.bestthinking.com/articles/science/social_sciences/sociology/thebritish-moral-panic-creation-myth-is-bust Swan, J 2013, ‘States under pressure on national anti-gang laws’, The Age, 6 March, viewed 8 May 2013, http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/political-news/statesunder-pressure-on-national-antigang-laws-20130306-2fkdn.html ‘The People v. Edgar Morales’ 2012, New York Law Journal, 12 December, viewed 22 May
2013,
http://www.newyorklawjournal.com/CaseDecisionNY.jsp?id=1202581035138& slreturn=20130422082640 ‘The war on bikies is failing’ 2007, The Advertiser, 22 June, p. 16. Thompson, K 1998, Moral panics, Key ideas series, Routledge, London. Tragos, P 2009, ‘Monster masculinity: honey, I’ll be in the garage reasserting my manhood’, Journal of Popular Culture, vol. 42, no. 3, pp. 541-553. Tuchman, G 1991, ‘Qualitative methods in the study of news’, in K Jensen & N Jankowski (eds), A handbook of qualitative methodologies for mass communications research, Routledge, London. 140
Ungar, S 2001, ‘Moral panic versus the risk society: the implications of the changing sites of social anxiety’, The British Journal of Sociology, vol. 56, no. 2, pp. 271291. United Motorcycle Council (UMC) 2009, National Press Club address, television transcript,
National
Press
Club,
viewed
22
May
2013,
http://www.umcinc.com.au/uploads/images/InterestingReading/National_Press_ Club_5_8_09.pdf Vakalis, D 2010, ‘Keeping ‘em out: exclusion at international summits’, paper presented at the In and Out of Place HDR and ECR Conference, 10 December 2010, Centre for Research on Social Inclusion, Macquarie University, Sydney. —— 2012, ‘Vic proposes “anti-bikie” laws: then they came for…’, GreenLeft Weekly, November 28, p. 6. van Dijk, T A 1988, ‘Semantics of a press panic: the Tamil “invasion”’, European Journal of Communication, vol. 3, no. 2, pp. 167-87. —— 1996, ‘Power and the news media’, in D L Palez (ed), Political communication in action: states, institutions, movements, audiences, Hampton Press, Cresskill. Vaughan, J 2008a, ‘Move to adjourn bikie bill lost’, The Advertiser, 7 May, p. 9. —— 2008b, ‘New laws to “squash” bikies’, The Advertiser, 8 May, p. 2. Veno, A 2007, ‘Make bikie clubs police themselves’, The Advertiser, 8 June, p. 20. —— 2008, ‘Bikies suffer as politics of fear takes hold in SA’, The Advertiser, 26 February, p. 20. Veno, A & Gannon, E 2009, The brotherhoods: inside the outlaw motorcycle clubs, 3rd edn, Allen & Unwin, Crows Nest. Veno, A & Sims, K (eds) 2007, The mammoth book of bikers, 2nd edn, Running Press Book Publishers, Philadelphia and London. Veno, A & van den Eynde, J 2007, ‘Moral panic neutralization project: a media-based intervention’, Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology, vol. 17, no. 6, pp. 490-506. —— 2008, Parliament of Australia: Parliamentary Joint Committee on the Australian Crime Commission – inquiry into the legislative arrangements to outlaw serious and
organised
crime
groups,
viewed
23
May
2013,
http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate_Committee s?url=acc_ctte/completed_inquiries/2008-10/laoscg/submissions/sub10.pdf 141
von Hirsch, A & Jareborg, N 1991, ‘Gauging criminal harm: a living-standard analysis’, Oxford Journal of Legal Studies, vol. 11, no. 1, pp. 1-38. von Lampe, K 2003, ‘Criminally exploitable ties: a network approach to organized crime’, in E C Viano, J Magallanes & L Bidel (eds), Transnational organized crime: myth, power and profit, Carolina Academic Press, Durham, pp. 9-22. Waddington, P J 1986, ‘Mugging as a moral panic: a question of proportion’, The British Journal of Sociology, vol. 37, no. 2, pp. 245-59. Welch, M, Bryan, N & Wolff, R 1999, ‘Just war theory and drug control policy: militarization, morality, and the war on drugs’, Contemporary Justice Review, vol. 2, no. 1, pp. 49-76. Welch, M, Fenwick, M & Roberts, M 1997, ‘Primary definitions of crime and moral panic: a content analysis of experts’ quotes in feature newspaper articles on crime’, Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, vol. 34, no. 4, pp. 474494. —— 1998, ‘State managers, intellectuals, and the media: a content analysis of ideology in experts’ quotes in feature newspaper articles on crime’, Justice Quarterly, vol. 15, no. 2, pp. 219-41. Wilkins, L 1964, Social deviance: social policy, action and research, The International Behavioural and Social Sciences Library, Tavistock Publications, London. Williams, G, Brennan, S &Lynch, A 2010, Supplement to chapter 10: South Australia v Totani [2010] HCA 39, online document, Federation Press, viewed 22 May 2013, http://www.federationpress.com.au/pdf/SA%20v%20Totani.pdf Wilson, P 1991, ‘Miscarriages of justice in serious criminal cases in Australia’, in K Carrington, M Dever, R Hogg, J Bargen & A Lohrey (eds), Travesty! Miscarriages of Justice, Pluto Press, Leichhardt, pp. 1-17. —— 2011, ‘National bikie gang laws: the wrong approach’, The Conversation, viewed 22 May 2013, http://theconversation.com/national-bikie-gang-laws-the-wrongapproach-2737 Wolf, D R 1991, The rebels: a brotherhood of outlaw bikers, University of Toronto Press, Toronto. Wolf, N 2007, The end of America: letter of warning to a young patriot – a citizen’s call to action, Chelsea Green Publishing Company, White River Junction. Wright, E O 2010, Envisioning real utopias, Verso, London. 142
Young, J 1971, ‘The role of the police as amplifiers of deviancy, negotiators of reality and translators of fantasy: some consequences of our present system of drug control as seen in Notting Hill’, in S Cohen (ed), Images of deviance, Penguin Books, Great Britain, pp. 27-61. —— 2009, ‘Moral panic: its origins in resistance, ressentment and the translation of fantasy into reality’, British Journal of Criminology, vol. 49, no. 1, pp. 4-16.
Legislation Anti-Terrorism Act (No. 2) 2005 (Cwlth) Corruption and Crime Commission Act 2003 (WA) Crimes (Assumed Identities) Act 2004 (Vic) Crimes (Controlled Operations) Act 2004 (Vic) Crimes (Criminal Organisation Control) Act 2009 (NSW) Crimes Legislation Amendment (Gangs) Act 2006 (NSW) Criminal Organisation Act 2009 (QLD) Criminal Organisations Control Act 2012 (Vic) Criminal Organisations Control Act 2012 (WA) Criminal Proceeds Confiscation Act 2002 (QLD) Evidence (Witness Identity Protection) Act 2004 (Vic) Firearms Act 1977 (SA) Firearms (Firearms Prohibition Orders) Amendment Act 2008 (SA) Justice Legislation (Group Criminal Activities) Act 2006 (NT) Liquor License Act 1997 (SA) Major Crimes (Investigative Powers) Act 2004 (Vic) Organized and Serious Crime Ordinance 1994 (Cap 455, HK) 143
Police Offences Amendment Act 2007 (Tas) Police Powers and Responsibilities Act 2000 (QLD) Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organisations Act 1970 (USA) Serious and Organised Crime (Control) Bill 2007 (SA) Serious Crime Control Act 2009 (NSW) Serious Organised Crime (Control) Act 2008 (SA) Statutes Amendment (Anti-Fortification) Act 2003 (SA) Statutes Amendment (Liquor, Gambling and Security Industries) Act 2005 (SA) Statutes Amendment (Power to Bar) Act 2008 (SA) Surveillance Devices (Amendment) Act 2004 (Vic) Terrorism (Commonwealth Powers) Act 2002 (SA)
Cases Assistant Commissioner Michael James Condon v Prompano Pty Ltd [2013] HCA 7 Church Entertainment Venue [2007] SALC 30 Gypsy Jokers Motorcycle Club Incorporated v Commissioner of Police [2008] HCA 7 South Australia v Totani [2010] HCA 39 Wainohu v New South Wales [2011] HCA 24
144
