Hawke's Bay woman Louise Hutchinson is an unpaid PR person for a Waikato chapter of the Mongrel Mob.
Hawke's Bay woman Louise Hutchinson is an unpaid PR person for a Waikato chapter of the Mongrel Mob.
It seems there is a problem with Hawke's Bay's gang problem.
The fact gangs exist in the first place is a problem, let alone the increased recruitment in recent years and their burgeoning role in the meth industry.
Within the Hawke's Bay gang culture, there is tension right now.
We notice the motorbikes. The leathers. The cars that are gang colours. The kids wearing gang colours. T-shirts at the supermarket. The lollies being handed out in parks at Guy Fawkes.
Handing out lollies is a great way of presenting a friendly face to the public.
So is providing security in the aftermath of the Christchurch shootings.
That's what got Hawke's Bay woman Louise Hutchinson intrigued, and led her on a curious path that has seen her become an unpaid PR person for a Waikato chapter of the Mongrel Mob.
Mongrel Mob Kingdom are based out of Hamilton.
Hutchinson sees her role as changing perceptions of the gang publicly.
She has a worthy track record and was the person who organised a Raglan hui, where Whanau First was established. She is not a gang member or someone involved in criminal activity.
Hutchinson is adamant she is working on behalf of gang members committed to change.
"They all have jobs, they work hard, they don't see themselves as a gang," she says. "They want to enjoy normal family lives."
The impossible challenge Hutchinson has is the perception of the patch. And gangs.
On hearing that gang members are just people too, the simple response many outsiders make is if you want to be treated with respect or as ''normal'' then "quit the gang''.
If you want to provide a public service like security, take the patch off.
Many of us see gang members handing out lollies to kids as an attempt to normalise a lifestyle that involves crime and violence.
Normalising gangs to gain community or political empathy only helps gangs dig their septic talons deeper.
Hutchinson says she wouldn't be involved with the Hamilton chapter if she thought they were violent or criminals.
"I don't see any of that around here. If I did, I wouldn't be here."
Naïve? Hutchinson believes questioning whether she is helping present a friendly face for criminals is naïve, in that it rejects the possibility that there are people in the fraternity genuinely trying to find a better life.
Which comes back to that simple response - if you want to make a dramatic lifestyle change, leave the patch behind.
It would be difficult for anyone to not respect a gang member trying to go straight after leaving that lifestyle.
But for many New Zealanders, patched gang members will forever be branded as being associated with a range of socially unacceptable violence (in particular toward women) and criminal activity.
Hutchinson has the toughest job in PR, given she will be viewed by many, despite the good intentions of the Hamilton chapter, as working to make the Mob look good.
Making reformed gang members look good, now that's a whole different PR story.
