Acting head of CMC defends independence following public support of state bikie crackdown CHANGED EXPECTATIONS: The CMCs Ken Levy has defended his independence and that of the commission following his public support for the State Government bikie crackdown. THE acting head of the Crime and Misconduct Commission has defended the independence of the watchdog. Dr Ken Levy has told a parliamentary Crime and Misconduct Committee hearing the independence of both himself and the CMC was intact. Dr Levy has attracted criticism from both corruption buster Tony Fitzgerald, who headed up the landmark Fitzgerald Inquiry in Queensland, and the State Opposition for his public support of the Newman Government's bikie crackdown. OPINION: Anti-gang laws vital to shield the innocent "I'm confident our independence has not been lost, not has our objectivity been compromised," Dr Levy told the committee. He said he believed the CMC had the right to either agree or disagree with government policy. "My intention with the article (in the Courier-Mail) was to add something else to the debate," Dr Levy told the committee. FITZGERALD: Newman after 'redneck' vote He said the commission's role was also to support the police in certain circumstances and there was evidence bikie gang crime was "out of control." "This is not just a flight of fancy," he said, likening the gangs to criminal cartels. NEWMAN: 'We say enough is enough' Opposition Leader Annastacia Palaszczuk accused Dr Levy of showing bias by supporting the government in his opinion piece, grilling him over his decision to make his thoughts public. But Dr Levy said he rejected the assertion. "I'm an independent statutory officer," he said. I was discharging those broader functions of the commission. Dr Levy said his comment piece did not mean that he was "in the pockets" of the government. He said other chairs had also expressed their opinions publicly on other issues over the last 25 years. Dr Levy told the committee he believed previous bikie-related laws were inadequate and warned the gangs were out of control. "There is an increasing spreading of the tentacles of criminal motorcycle gangs," Dr Levy said. There is evidence that criminal motorcycle gangs have got out of control. If you actually look at the activities they get involved in, it's very similar to criminal cartels. Acting Assistant Commissioner of Crime, Michael Scott, said bikie gangs had been increasing their involvement in organised crime, broadening their membership and changing their internal culture. "There's a change in their internal demographics," Mr Scott told the committee. Younger members have come on board. They have been actively recruited from prison and from other feeder groups. We have assessed that the changes in their internal culture has resulted in them exhibiting an increased propensity for them to engage in firstly illegal drug activity in Queensland and interstate and in the use of violence, particularly firearm-related violence.