Victoria 20 incidents since November last year where victims have been shot while in the street.

20 incidents since November last year where victims have been shot while in the street.A number of these incidents have only come to police attention after the victims have arrived at hospitals for medical assistance.Police said officers had been investigating the shootings on an individual basis and recognised the need for a more thorough approach.About 20 people will staff the taskforce, including trained detectives and intelligence support. They will also be assisted by officers from other existing squads.
Detective Superintendent Paul Hollowood from the Crime Department said the major focus of the taskforce was to look at the patterns of shootings and attempt to deter and prevent further attacks.``We believe these incidents are possibly linked with drug-related crime activity and want to send a message to those people involved that we are aware of the links and will be concentrating heavily on prosecuting those involved,'' Det-Supt Hollowood said.He said the taskforce would work like the Purana gangland taskforce and said one of the reasons it was formed was the level of co-operation from alleged victims was not very good.Det-Supt Hollowood said Victoria did not need a specialist bikie taskforce as there was already a group monitoring motorcycle gangs.

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corruption trial of Bayswater panel beater, Pasquale Minniti.

Several senior West Australian MPs and the Police Commissioner are expected to be called as witnesses at the corruption trial of Bayswater panel beater, Pasquale Minniti.Summonses have been served on the Police Commissioner Karl O'Callaghan, the former Deputy Commissioner Murray Lampard, and former Labor ministers Bob Kucera and John D'Orazio.the Attorney General Jim McGinty and the former Police Minister, now Housing Minister, Michelle Roberts will also be summonsed to appear at the trial.
Mr Kucera announced his decision to retire from politics 12 days ago, about the time he received the notice to appear.He says his decision not to contest a seat at next month's poll had nothing to do with the case, and he is surprised he has been summonsed."I have no idea why I've been summonsed other than a phone call from, that I made to Mr Minniti's solicitor to say that I may be, may be, required to give character evidence as he was one of my constituents," he said.
The trial arose out of a Corruption and Crime Commission investigation into Mr Minniti's alleged invovement in a traffic infringement scam.

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Lindstrom witness protection

Lindstrom has pleaded guilty to soliciting the murder of two witnesses who were due to give evidence against her boyfriend on serious drug charges.In return for a lighter sentence, she has vowed to testify against him and others, but as a result is kept in protective custody as "serious" threats on her life have been made. Speaking publicly for the first time since being locked up last May, Lindstrom made a heartfelt apology to the Supreme Court, saying she wished she could have her time over. During her short stint in the witness box, she also confessed to suffering anorexia from the age of 13 and said the illness still plagued her. Her barrister, Paul Byrne SC, asked if she had anything to say to the court about her offence. "Yes, I totally regret my actions and I'm sorry to the people that are suffering (as a result)," she said.
"I wish I could get a second chance at life but mostly I wish I could turn back time. It will not ever happen again."Lindstrom spoke softly, also thanking her family and friends for their ongoing support. She was facing a lengthy jail term but Justice Stephen Rothman agreed she was in no way the instigator of the murderous plan - instead describing her as an "administrator". Lindstrom is unlikely to receive anything like the maximum jail term of 25 years. Mr Byrne submitted special circumstances should be applied because, even after being granted parole, she would be held in witness protection as she testified against her former boyfriend and others in the drug case. Looking gaunt and occasionally wiping away tears, Lindstrom was supported by her father and friends as the court heard of two covertly recorded phone calls between her and her boyfriend - who cannot be identified for legal reasons - just prior to her arrest. In them, they discuss Lindstrom seeing "solicitors" - a reference to the hitmen who were to carry out the shooting deaths. Lindstrom's father Hans told the court he had met Charlotte's former boyfriend and did not think he was a good person to spend time with. According to the Crown case, Lindstrom met with an undercover policeman who pretended to be a hitman. In one conversation, she told him her boyfriend wanted the two witnesses "in a cemetery" rather than a hospital. Justice Rothman said he would pass sentence as soon as possible.

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Investigation into the private security industry

THE Australian Crime Commission has launched a special investigation into the private security industry amid fears organised crime rings are using it to infiltrate businesses, sell drugs and launder money.Criminals no longer just use private security jobs to sell drugs and steal guns; they are now using it as a cover to get access to lucrative sectors such as insurance, finance and telecommunications, it warns."We're seeing criminal infiltration across a broad range of areas," commission chief executive Alastair Milroy said.
"The potential is (for) quite a broad range of criminal activity — access to business, business information, facilitating theft for others and access to things that business might be involved in."The jobs now carried out by security guards — such as surveillance, property protection and even fraud investigation — involve trust from the community, but some people might exploit that, Mr Milroy said.The commission began an investigation into the industry last September, after an intelligence assessment found that different job types and the kind of access they allowed provided opportunities for criminals.Intelligence gathered by the commission on organised crime suggests criminals are moving into business sectors with high profits and less risk of scrutiny from law enforcement, such as insurance and transport.Security licence holders have access to businesses such as banks, airports, hotels, shopping centres and government services.
"Security plays a significant part in those industries, to (get access to them) they would need to infiltrate within the security," Mr Milroy said.
"It's an issue of access to sensitive information.
"We are taking a very open mind to really look at the extent of criminal infiltration and the risks associated with that brings to all business.
"(It) increases the risk to business and it also raises the issue of the credibility of the agencies involved."
The Australian Crime Commission was using its coercive powers "quite extensively", Mr Milroy said. Intelligence was being passed on to state police. The investigation is expected to be finished by the end of the year.

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