HALIFAX—The American TV show Sons of Anarchy is pushing Nova Scotians towards a life of crime in outlaw motorcycle gangs, according to a presentation from RCMP in Halifax on Monday.

Det. Const. Mike Carter of the Criminal Intelligence Service of Nova Scotia (CISNS) and Const. Scott Morrison of the Nova Scotia Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit (CFSEU) gave a presentation on outlaw motorcycle gangs in the province to the Halifax Board of Police Commissioners.

Their overall message to the board: Outlaw motorcycle gangs are becoming more common in the province, with between 100 and 200 active members across Nova Scotia.

“I can tell you that it’s growing, ever since the phenomenon of Sons of Anarchy,” Morrison told the board, referring to a crime drama that ran for seven seasons from 2008 to 2014.

“Where that television show has seemed to almost socialize outlaw motorcycle gang life, more people want to join that life, think it’s a brotherhood, think the camaraderie is there, based on the television show, and they’re joining up.”

Carter agreed.

“People look at that and they think, ‘Oh that’s an attractive lifestyle. They’re making money, riding their bikes, they’re doing this, they don’t have any problems with anyone,’ ” he said. “But there’s always ... always another side of the coin, with the violence and the home invasions and all that other part of the lifestyle that’s not that attractive.”

Carter and Morrison wouldn’t take questions from reporters after Monday’s presentation, and the Mounties’ spokesperson on outlaw motorcycle gangs wasn’t available till later in the week.

RCMP in Nova Scotia have repeatedly warned, since 2014, that the Hells Angels are making a comeback in the province, bringing with them violence, drugs and prostitution. Police pushed the notorious worldwide gang out of Nova Scotia in 2003 when they arrested most of the members and seized the Halifax clubhouse.

Carter and Morrison said the Hells Angels control the outlaw motorcycle gangs in Nova Scotia, but they don’t have a chapter or clubhouse here and there are no full members, known as “full-patch” members, in the province.

Rather, Carter and Morrison said, a number of what the RCMP calls “support clubs” — like the Darksiders in Dartmouth — raise money for the Hells Angels. “Friend clubs” — such as the Red Devils in Halifax — do the organization’s bidding in the province. Both groups of clubs act as “farm teams” for the Hells Angels, Carter and Morrison said. The members of these clubs can become “prospect members” of the Hells Angels, and then eventually become full-patch members.

“For the Hells Angels to open a chapter in the province, there’s a number of rules and steps that they have to go through, which I think is ironic because this is an outlaw motorcycle gang that doesn’t like to follow rules,” Morrison said.

He said the Hells Angels could move six or more full-patch members of the club to Nova Scotia to start a chapter, but didn’t elaborate on why they haven’t done so.

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The rival Bacchus club does have a clubhouse in the Halifax area, along with a support club in rural Nova Scotia.

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“The Bacchus, they take a back seat to the Hells Angels in Nova Scotia, there’s no doubt about that,” Morrison said. “I’m sure they know that, and they don’t try to push the envelope right now because (the Hells Angels) are the most powerful motorcycle club in the world right now.”

Earlier this year, three Bacchus members — Patrick Michael James, Duayne Jamie Howe, and David John Pearce — were convicted of charges laid in 2012, including commission of an offence for a criminal organization, extortion and uttering threats.

Nova Scotia Public Prosecution Service spokesperson Chris Hansen said sentencing for the trio is scheduled for October in Nova Scotia Supreme Court.

“That’s a big win for us in the province, speaking to outlaw motorcycle gangs,” Morrison said. “Now the court agrees that the Bacchus itself, who we just said are not as powerful as the Hells Angels, were deemed a criminal organization in that matter.”

Carter and Morrison said a newer club, the Black Pistons in Cape Breton, is also a Hells Angels rival. Courts in Ontario have declared the club not to be a criminal organization.

“Based on the court, they’re not. Our intelligence may suggest otherwise,” Morrison said. (The Black Pistons’ website describes the club as “a group of men united to ride and have fun,” and “a brotherhood and not a criminal organization.”)

Morrison said the biggest challenge for police is gathering intelligence on outlaw motorcycle gangs because people are hesitant to speak out for fear of retribution.

Answering a question from police board member and Councillor Tony Mancini, Morrison said street checks are helpful in investigating outlaw motorcycle gangs.

The controversial practice, also known as carding, involves police stopping people and making a record of their identification.

It has been found to disproportionately target Black people in Halifax and other jurisdictions, and is currently the subject of a review by a Toronto criminologist.

“We can actually track their evolving through the club based on street checks,” Morrison said, referring to monitoring members’ progress in getting their full patch and the accompanying insignia.

“(Street checks) are invaluable to us, and we rely on them, but (don’t) solely rely on them. They’re just an investigative tool that we use to help us with the landscape.”

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