New gang legislation would stop outlaw patches in public, stop gatherings
Tuesday, 27 February 2024
The government is set to introduce new legislation into parliament which would see tougher handling of gangs by police and the judicial system.
The plan, which comes as part of National’s coalition agreement with ACT, focuses on polices ability to disperse gang members, as well as the use of patches in public places.
Why it matters
- Being big on law and order were campaign values that the National party stood on in the lead up to the election.
Stuff previously reported the number of known gangsters in New Zealand had climbed 10% in under a year, according to police data.
An April 2023 report from the Gang Harm Insights Centre said there were 8875 members spread across 33 gangs on the police’s National Gang List.
The plan has drawn both criticism and support, with some saying it will only make matters worse, while others applaud the support it would give police in dealing with gangs.
The breakdown
The government’s plan has a few prongs to it, as a way of tackling gang membership on multiple fronts.
As well as banning gang patches in public places, the law would also create greater powers for law enforcement to stop gangs from gathering in groups or communicating.
Police could issue dispersal notices, which would force gang members to leave where they’re gathered and not communicate with each other for seven days.
Non-consorting orders could be issued by courts, which would stop specific offenders from associating with each other for up to three years.
The final thing the law would do, would be to give greater weight in court to gang membership as an aggravating factor during sentencing.
By the numbers
According to the government, over the past five years gangs have recruited 3000 members.
This is an increase of 51%, they said.
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith said violent crime was up around 33%
Who said what
Labour's Police spokesperson Ginny Andersen called National's policy a 'reheat' of what it took to the 2020 election in an interview with Newshub, saying it was a 'pretty lazy' move.
“National has got the policy microwave set on reheat,” she said in a statement in June.
In an interview with 1News, senior Mongrel Mob member Harry Tam said the policy failed to address the root causes of membership and could make the problem worse.
'We've got to come to terms that we can't actually arrest our way out of this problem,' he said.
Also on an interview with 1News, police commissioner Andrew Coster welcomed the new proposed legislation.
He said the tools would help put pressure on gangs who cause fear in the community.