Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs in Germany: Which Challenges Face Law Enforcement?

Since years, law enforcement authorities in Germany have focused on criminal activities of outlaw motorcycle gangs (OMCGs). The Federal Criminal Police Office in Germany defines OMCG-related crime as organized crime. Therefore, the police and prosecution have special departments such as “OMCG” or “organized crime”. These departments consist of specialized officers who have a high knowledge of OMCGs, its members and their activities. In January 2017 the Criminological Research Institute of Lower Saxony (KFN) started a research project, funded by the Internal Security Fund of the European Union, investigation OMCGs. One part of this research project is to identify difficulties within law enforcement and successful strategies to fight criminal activities of OMCGs. The presentation examines practical experiences of police and prosecution authorities dealing with OMCGs. The results of interviews with experts and an analysis of criminal court files are presented, which illustrates how police and prosecution authorities investigate OMCGs and the difficulties and challenges involved. In particular, difficulties are highlighted in finding witnesses and suspects who are willing to testify, in the lack of personal and financial resources, and the appearance of new groups. Results show that effective collaborations between the police and prosecution are needed as well as a classification of organized crime for the purposes of crime prevention.