.. from Ozbiker.org 15/4/04

The Western Australian Gypsy Jokers took their challenge to anti-fortification laws to police headquarters yesterday, personally delivering their appeal and a key to the clubhouse gate to Acting Deputy Commissioner Mel Hay.

The unlikely postman was veteran club member and spokesman Dean Adams, who met Mr Hay to outline the terms of use of the gate key.

Police went to the Gypsy Jokers clubhouse in Lower Park Road in Maddington almost two weeks ago to serve a fortification warning notice.

It began a process giving the club 14 days to satisfy police that the clubhouse is not heavily fortified. If that fails and the structures are not removed, police can apply to remove them with heavy equipment and the bikers have seven days to appeal to the Supreme Court.

Mr Adams, who was shadowed by police as he rode to their headquarters in East Perth, said he was surprised that Mr Hay had set aside time to accept the appeal and the key. Security staff searched Mr Adams and he was escorted to Mr Hay's office on the sixth floor.

Earlier, Mr Adams appeared in Perth Magistrate's Court on two counts of assault occasioning bodily harm in Kalgoorlie last year.

The Gypsy Jokers handed over the gate key on condition that police contact Mr Adams 30 minutes before entering the clubhouse so he could be there.

"All the West Australian services have a key," he said. "The Water Authority have a key. They can enter and read the meter. Alinta Gas can enter and read the meter. If these guys had done a bit of police work, they would have found that out and been able to do that themselves."

The Police Commissioner applied to the Corruption and Crime Commission for the fortification warning notice on the grounds that the premises was heavily fortified and habitually used by a class of people reasonably suspected of being involved in organised crime.

The Gypsy Jokers deny that their clubhouse is fortified, saying the 1.8m-high wall around the premises and security cameras monitoring the grounds are to protect members' expensive motorcycles from thieves.

The real challenge for the club will be to disprove part (b) of the fortification warning notice that the clubhouse habitually is used by a significant number of people suspected of organised criminal activities.

To get the warning notice, police had to show in a secret CCC hearing that a significant number of club members were involved in organised crime. On the day the warning notice was issued, Mr Hay said the evidence given to the CCC was confidential.

"But clearly there are highly publicised matters involving the Gypsy Jokers . . . drug matters . . . the most serious crime of all, murder," he said. "Of the 50 members, there is possibly only one that doesn't have a criminal record."

Yesterday, Mr Adams said police should put up or shut up.

"We're sick of hearing it," he said. "We've been under serious scrutiny for a lot of years. If they had some evidence of organised crime, then surely they best be coming out with it by now."

Mr Adams challenged police and politicians to get out from behind their fortified homes and offices to inspect the clubhouse.