The new gang patch ban has the potential to threaten relationships between police officers and their communities in small Northland towns, Police Association president Chris Cahill warns.
The ban came into force this week, and means those displaying gang insignia in public face up to six months in jail or a fine of up to $5000, and their patch being destroyed.
It is part of the Gangs Act 2024, which also gives police powers to issue dispersal notices on disruptive gang members and allows for orders of non-association for up to three years.
Cahill said policing the gang patch ban would require a nuanced approach, especially in smaller Northland towns where there are only one or two police officers.
“It has the potential to change the relationships in some of these communities.”
The last thing sole-charge officers will want is having to deal with gang members “grumpy” about losing their patches, he said.
“Police have indicated they will support these police officers with outside help but we don’t necessarily want officers coming in, causing a great deal of animosity, and then leaving the local officers to deal with it.”
Northland police officers previously expressed their fears about policing the gang patch ban, saying it could lead to more assaults on police in rural areas.
Cahill agreed the gang patch law would be more difficult to police in areas like Northland and Hawke’s Bay than in Auckland, because of the numbers of intergenerational gang members who make up the community.
“It’s certainly going to be challenging in Kaikohe and Kaitāia, and I think the police response will be more nuanced than in central Auckland.
“It’s horses for courses but these communities have rights to feel safe and we know that large numbers of gang members makes people feel unsafe.”
But that assertion was challenged by Northland Māori health advocate and former gang leader Martin Kaipo, who said whānau of gang members are not frightened by what their relations wear.
“Who’s saying that they’re fearful? A lot of these fellas are our brothers, uncles and fathers ... two-thirds of gang members are Maōri.”
Kaipo is chief executive of Te Hau o Āwhiowhio ō Otangarei Trust - an holistic provider of health and social services - and is writing his PhD on social inequality for marginalised whānau Māori, particularly those in gangs.
He has no tolerance for gang violence, domestic violence or other “bad behaviour” and supports a crack-down on criminal behaviour.
But Kaipo said police should be focusing on violence and drug dealing, rather than what gang members are wearing, and feared the gang patch ban could impede on human rights.
“If they [gang members] are here to live and enjoy their family, they should have the right to live free.”
Kaipo is particularly concerned about how the Crown has selected the 35 gangs listed in the law, when a motorcycle club could be equally intimidating when they congregate.
He said the Government could only reduce gang numbers by addressing the real reasons why gangs exist, including poverty and family trauma.
“Gangs didn’t start overnight. Gangs are the rebellion of unjust, restrictive laws. Members are the product of poverty and trauma, not just through them but their families.
“Have these issues been dealt with to break up [gangs] and give them a new start?”
Kaipo joined a gang when he was 14 because he and his brothers didn’t have any role models and they didn’t want to be a burden on their mother, a widow raising 11 children.
He rose to the rank of chapter president but left the gang when his brother, who had looked up to him, was sentenced to life in prison.
Kaipo credited his wife, Janine Kaipo, who is now general manager of Āwhiowhio, for helping him change.
“I was one of the lucky ones that made change, and realising that I had a wife who was father, mother and everything that I should’ve been.”
Now studying for his PhD, Kaipo said education is an important part of life after gangs.
Denise Piper is a news reporter for the Northern Advocate, focusing on health and business. She has more than 20 years in journalism and is passionate about covering stories that make a difference.