As Victoria grapples with an increasingly sophisticated wave of organised crime, debate is intensifying over whether creating a new crime-fighting agency is the answer or whether existing law enforcement bodies simply need stronger powers.

The discussion has been fuelled by reports that Premier Jacinta Allan is considering establishing a dedicated organised crime agency in response to escalating gang violence, illicit tobacco operations and growing concerns about criminal syndicates extending their influence across Melbourne.

However, former Victoria Police detective Charlie Bezzina has dismissed the proposal as little more than a political exercise, arguing the state already possesses the agencies required to tackle organised crime if police are given the authority and resources they need.

“These bodies are already there,” Bezzina said, pointing to existing organisations such as the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (ACIC) and Victoria’s Office of the Chief Examiner.

Rather than creating another bureaucracy, he argued governments should strengthen investigative powers, provide greater operational support and ensure tougher penalties are imposed on serious offenders.

“What we really need is penalties, penalties to really drive the message home. And that’s where the police are being let down time and time again by the court system,” Bezzina said.

His criticism follows growing speculation that the Allan Government is developing a new state-based organised crime body focused on intelligence gathering, financial investigations and stripping criminal assets from major syndicates.

According to reports, the proposed agency would also target outlaw motorcycle gangs, organised financial crime and criminal infiltration of Victoria’s multibillion-dollar infrastructure projects.

The proposal emerges as Victoria Police continues battling what investigators describe as one of Melbourne’s most significant organised crime threats in decades.

Authorities believe a cartel known as The Commission has played a central role in coordinating violent attacks linked to the illicit tobacco market, including firebombings, kidnappings, extortion and intimidation targeting businesses across metropolitan Melbourne.

Police allege the syndicate has used encrypted communication platforms to direct criminal activity while relying on younger offenders to carry out attacks, making investigations increasingly complex.

Earlier this month, Victoria Police charged a 20-year-old Essendon man alleged to have coordinated numerous offences connected to hospitality venues, including attempted arson, kidnapping, extortion and recruiting children to participate in criminal activity. The investigation forms part of Operation Eclipse, a specialist taskforce targeting organised crime networks operating across the state.

Despite hundreds of arrests made during recent organised crime investigations, authorities acknowledge violence has continued.

Former Australian Federal Police officer Rohan Pike has warned that organised crime groups continue adapting despite major police operations, suggesting leadership changes within criminal networks do not necessarily weaken their overall capability.

The sustained violence has heightened political pressure on Premier Jacinta Allan, whose government has faced repeated criticism from the Opposition over crime, public safety and organised criminal infiltration.

Reports indicate the proposed agency could be announced before Parliament resumes, although questions remain about its structure, oversight arrangements and relationship with existing policing organisations.

Bezzina believes Victoria Police already knows what changes would have the greatest impact.

He pointed to repeated calls from Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Mike Bush for greater investigative authority, particularly the removal of procedural barriers that require officers to obtain judicial approval before commencing certain organised crime investigations.

“As Chief Commissioner Bush said, what he’s after is basically more powers,” Bezzina argued.

Bush has consistently argued that organised crime underpins many of Victoria’s broader law-and-order challenges and has advocated stronger legislative tools to pursue those directing criminal enterprises rather than only arresting frontline offenders.

Victoria already operates several agencies with specialised responsibilities in combating organised crime.

The Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission coordinates intelligence nationally across law enforcement agencies, while the Office of the Chief Examiner possesses coercive investigative powers under Victoria’s Major Crime (Investigative Powers) Act to compel witnesses and gather evidence relating to serious organised crime offences.

Supporters of Bezzina’s position argue that strengthening these existing institutions would be faster and more effective than establishing an entirely new organisation requiring legislation, staffing, funding and operational frameworks.

Others contend that Victoria’s evolving organised crime landscape justifies a dedicated body capable of integrating intelligence, financial investigations and asset recovery under one umbrella.

The debate comes as organised crime has increasingly diversified beyond traditional drug trafficking.

Law enforcement agencies say the illicit tobacco market has become enormously profitable following significant increases in tobacco excise, creating opportunities for sophisticated criminal syndicates to expand their operations.

Authorities fear those same networks are increasingly targeting legitimate businesses through extortion, intimidation and money laundering, broadening their influence well beyond illegal tobacco sales.

The Allan Government has already pursued broader integrity reforms in other areas.

Earlier this year it announced plans to strengthen the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (IBAC), including retrospective “follow the money” investigative powers designed to trace public funds through subcontracting arrangements and private entities.

Whether a separate organised crime agency becomes part of that broader reform agenda remains uncertain.

For critics, the concern is duplication rather than capability.

Creating another institution, they argue, risks adding administrative complexity without addressing what frontline investigators identify as their most pressing needs: stronger investigative powers, quicker access to warrants, additional specialist resources and sentencing outcomes that better deter organised criminal activity.

Supporters of a new agency counter that the scale and sophistication of modern criminal enterprises demand a more coordinated response than existing structures can deliver.

Internationally, governments have increasingly invested in specialist organised crime commissions that combine intelligence, financial crime analysis, cyber expertise and asset confiscation capabilities under a single operational framework.

Whether Victoria follows that path is likely to become a significant political issue in the months ahead, particularly as crime remains one of the dominant topics ahead of the state’s next election.

For now, however, Bezzina maintains the solution is relatively straightforward.

Rather than building another organisation, he believes Victoria should focus on empowering the police officers already confronting organised crime every day, ensuring they have the legal authority, operational support and judicial backing required to dismantle increasingly sophisticated criminal syndicates.