Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission
Friday 5 August 2016 @ 11.24 a.m. | Crime
The new Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission, launched on 1 July 2016, has leveraged the strengths of two of Australia’s most important law enforcement and criminal information agencies; namely CrimTrac and the Australian Crime Commission. The Commission has already spearheaded several operations since its birth and has delivered intelligence on terrorism, financial crimes and criminal gangs.
Background to the Agency
The agency originated from an historic agreement in November 2015 at the Law, Crime and Community Safety Council to embrace a new national security approach that would see CrimTrac IT specialists working with the Australian Crime Commission’s top intelligence analysts. The merger of the two agencies was passed in Parliament in May 2016. At the introduction of the Australian Crime Commission Amendment (National Policing Information) Bill 2015 into Parliament, Justice Minister Michael Keenan expressed:
“The merger will enrich the ACC's critical intelligence function with direct access to CrimTrac's national police information holdings and sophisticated information technology capabilities…This will improve the quality, access and timeliness of the intelligence that the merged agency provides to law enforcement and intelligence agencies. Improved intelligence will better equip these agencies to detect and disrupt significant threats, such as terrorism, international drug trafficking and cybercrime.”
In a media release, Mr Keenan further justified the existence of the agency by reiterating the unprecedented global threat to our national security. He detailed that since 12 September 2014, when the national terrorism threat level was raised, 44 people have been charged as a result of 16 counter terrorism operations around Australia.
The Role of ACIC
According to the media release by the Minister, ACIC will close information gaps between law enforcement agencies and link intelligence data to help identify links between organised crime and national security investigations. The Minister praised the agency highlighting that since its inception, it has:
“…worked to thwart the illicit drug market - collaborating with partner agencies to seize more than 280kg of methamphetamine worth a street value of at least $280 million in Victoria, Western Australia and South Australia.”
The next major operation by ACIC will be targeted towards the Calabrian mafia. ACIC has begun its investigation into the Italian secret society’s illicit drug trade. ACIC’s new appointed chief executive Chris Dawson has confirmed this to the Herald Sun stressing that cracking down on this illicit drug trade was on ACIC’s agenda. The Calabrian mafia is one of the world’s biggest traffickers of ecstasy and cocaine and has a strong presence in Australia.
Mr Dawson has also expressed his intentions to force foreign fighters to answer questions when they return to Australia from Syria and Iraq. He said:
“This use of the ACIC’s coercive powers against returning foreign fighters is to work with Australia’s security agencies to try to prevent the radicalised Islamic State jihadists from using the dangerous skills and deadly tactics they learned overseas to commit terrorist acts in Australia.”
Mr Dawson said the ACIC would offer a more comprehensive service than was available through the Federal agencies it was replacing.
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