Newest Member;

The CAA welcomes former Homicide Squad Senior Sergeant Charlie Bezzina to our organisation – Charlie has a very high media presence and his views align very well with those of the CAA. Charlie will be the media face of the CAA.

CAA Guest

 Aaron Violi MP, the Federal member for Casey, joined the meeting to discuss items of particular interest, Firearms and Tobacco wars.

CAA’s concern over the registration and management of Firearms and an Australia-wide approach was well ventilated.

As was the Tobacco Wars, with contributions from most members. CAA highlighted the reality where the Government’s approach has been an own goal as far as organised crime is concerned.

Main items raised:

Tobacco/Alcohol wars

 Tobacco

This issue is really getting ridiculously out of hand, and governments and their advisers, protected in their political cocoon, are sitting on their hands. At the same time, the criminal cartels grow and increase their power.

Some realities are being ignored;

• Without urgent enforcement, the situation will deteriorate even further
• The only agencies that can make a meaningful impact in enforcement are the police, State and Federal.
• Trying to recruit non-police for the task, given the Bikie Organised crime role, will fail
• Who is going to inspect a property for Excise compliance when criminal enforcers could confront you without the resources of a Police Force behind you?
• Claims that lowering the excise to make the trade for criminals less profitable or not worth the effort are based on the spurious argument that the excise reduces smoking.
• The only measurement that can be based on is the legal sales of tobacco through Licensed Tobacco outlets.
• We all know anecdotally by the ever-growing proliferation of illegal outlets populating our shopping precincts and the regular traffic the stores enjoy. Still, if these stores were not profitable, they wouldn’t be expanding at the current rate. So much for smoking declining; it is in fact, on a dramatic increase as the illegal aspect adds to the mystique, drawing people in.
• The reality is that excise tax take on tobacco, has and continues to be in a downward spiral.

 And now Alcohol.

 Criminal gangs are already moving into the very lucrative alcohol market; however, they are unlikely to target retail outlets like tobacco, but instead focus on licensed venues. As a result, OMG-Esque standover tactics will likely be employed against restaurants, licensed clubs, including your local Football Club or RSL, Hotels, and Bottle shops.

The consequences of this development,

• A new surge in firebombing and the risk to the community will soon be evident.
• Landlords will be loath to lease to any business involved in the alcohol trade.
• Insurance, if a business can in fact get any, is faced with exorbitant premiums, which are likely to increase even further when the crime gangs infiltrate the alcohol market. Still, all businesses involved in the Alcohol trade can anticipate premiums skyrocketing.

And guess who pays – us.

We urge the Government to manage and protect the distributors and manufacturers of alcoholic products and impose any excise much earlier in the system, where the criminals are unlikely to gain access. Remove excess at the retail end and impose a reasonable excise on the components.

Clever use of excise can improve the alcohol industry, enabling it to avoid relying on imports, create additional employment, and strengthen the National budget.

Boosting the homegrown alcohol industry has many advantages.

 Victims

 The issue of Victims and the lack of support they have in our judicial system was discussed at length.

It was identified that the well-known and effective Victim  Representative, Victims of Crime Assistance League (VOCAL), has long since vanished from Victoria.

It was resolved that the CAA should establish and build a Victim representative group to try to bring some balance to the Criminal Justice system and give Victims a voice.

There was substantial discussion about who should lead this initiative, and it was resolved unanimously that the CAA approach former Chief Commissioner Shane Patton to inquire about his interest in becoming involved.

Issues like automatic Reparation, avoiding the necessity of Victims having to re-live their trauma by having to instigate litigation to gain any Restitution. Which can take multiple forms:

• Restitution: Restoring victims to their original state.
• Compensation: Financial payments for losses.
• Rehabilitation: Medical or psychological support.
• Satisfaction: Public apologies or memorials.
• Guarantees of Non-Repetition: Institutional reforms to prevent future harm.
• Garnishee: or other instruments to be imposed on convicted criminals.
• Youth strategy: Parents required to take responsibility for crimes committed by their children under 18, with the rules of restitution applying to the children’s parents as if they had committed the crime themselves.

Parents taking responsibility for their children is a strategy sure to reduce the crime rate dramatically.

The CAA invites any person of good character to join our organisation or donate to our GoFundMe appeal and help us make a difference.

The CAA currently has over 40 members and over 40K followers. While we would like to encourage more retired Police Officers to join the organisation, it is not an exclusive former police club, and currently, non-police outnumber former police officers.

Applications or inquiries can be directed to ceo@caainc.org.au.

Gofundme link https://gofund.me/fafd2ae0