KEY POINTS:
A call for gangs to be outlawed appears unlikely to get off the ground because of concern it would only drive the organisations underground and make them more attractive to potential members.
Prime Minister Helen Clark yesterday said that taking action like banning gangs - as New Zealand
First has suggested should be done - was not that simple.
The risk was that the type of people who joined gangs would be even more drawn to them if they were outlawed, she said.
"The point has been made that in the perverse criminal world in which gangs thrive, driving an organisation underground can actually increase its mana and increase its attractiveness to the sort of people who go after joining these organisations," the Prime Minister said.
NZ First attacked Labour's handling of gangs following the fatal shooting of 2-year-old Jhia Harmony Te Tua in Wanganui in a gang-related incident on Saturday night.
After being called "soft" and accused of "pussyfooting around" by NZ First's law and order spokesman, Ron Mark, Helen Clark yesterday arrived at her regular Monday press conference armed with a list of things the Government had done to combat gangs.
Along with various legislative moves such as a bill designed to strip gangs of cash and beefed-up funding to fight organised crime, she said police had also "not been idle".
The Prime Minister said a police gang operation that began in Wanganui a year ago had resulted in more than 100 arrests for charges varying from firearms offences to intimidation.
"I don't think a police operation which has resulted in over 100 charges being laid in Wanganui around these people is a soft approach - it's actually a tough approach."
One of the legislative changes made in 2002 made it illegal to participate in a criminal group. But the law change has proven difficult to administer, with only about 10 per cent of charges laid resulting in convictions.
The Prime Minister said a review was now under way of that section of the Crimes Act to see if its impact could be improved.
Justice officials were also working on an "organised crime strategy", which had been due to be completed in about 10 months but might now be brought forward.
A move to ban gang patches and regalia from public places in Wanganui is already heading for Parliament as a local bill, sponsored by the National MP for Whanganui, Chester Borrows.
It is now certain to attract even more attention after the latest flare-up.
But even that ban carries its own difficulties, caused by the prevalence of gang members who tattoo gang insignia on their faces.
Helen Clark said the approach of banning gang patches and paraphernalia was in its infancy internationally, and there were no known evaluations of how it might work.
Police Association president Greg O'Connor last night said one of the problems with the gang situation was that it was politicised when a major incident happened.
"Every time something happens and hits the airwaves, the police say, 'We're on top of this', and outline things they're doing, which is just crap," he said.
"The [Police] Commissioner now is saying it's all right. Well it's bullshit. It is out of control."
