Police Commissioner Andrew Coster to reveal specialised gang task force to target organised crime

Police Commissioner Andrew Coster is set to announce new measures to crack down on gang crime and gangs’ anti-social behaviour when he fronts media tomorrow morning, the Herald can reveal.

Coster will make the announcement at 11.15am at the Auckland Central Police Station.

Police HQ would not elaborate on the announcement when contacted tonight, but the Herald understands Coster will unveil police plans to tackle gangs, which in turn implements the National-led government’s “tough on crime” policies.

This could involve the creation of a new national task force, possibly called the National Gang Unit.

It would be a dedicated, specialised gang unit with ring-fenced staff in police districts across the country.

It would be supervised by a senior police officer, most likely in Wellington.

The new measures would also follow on from Operation Cobalt, which has been running for several years, but with most success in Auckland where a dedicated team of officers has been in place.

Tomorrow’s announcements follow a concerning rise in gang violence, including the fatal shooting of a man last weekend on Ponsonby Rd by a Killer Beez gang member.

The influx of so-called 501 deportees from Australia has seen a surge of new gangs establishing here like the Comancheros, who have deep links with the illicit the drug trade and a propensity for violence.

Patched members of the Comanchero gang pictured with gold-plated motorcycles after establishing a New Zealand chapter. Photo / Instagram

The venue of tomorrow’s announcement is the same as where the Government spoke of introducing legislation to ban all gang insignia in public places and create greater powers to stop criminal gangs from gathering in groups and communicating.

That announcement was made on February 24 by Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith and Police Minister Mark Mitchell.

Goldsmith said under the new law to crack down on gangs, police will be able to issue dispersal notices requiring gang members to immediately leave the area and not associate with one another for seven days.

Courts will be able to issue non-consorting orders, which will stop specified gang offenders from associating or communicating with one another for up to three years.

“The law will also be changed to give greater weight to gang membership as an aggravating factor at sentencing, enabling courts to impose more severe punishments,” Goldsmith said.

The Government has already announced its work to ban gang patches in public, now the crackdown is set to grow further. Photo / NZME

Under the legislation, wearing a gang patch in public would come with a penalty of a fine of up to $5000 or up to six months in prison.

Goldsmith said over the last five years gangs had recruited more than 3000 members, a 51 per cent increase. At the same time, there had been a significant escalation in gang-related violence, public intimidation and shootings, with violent crime up 33 per cent.

“We need to take action and reduce gangs’ ability to engage in criminal behaviour and prevent them from further endangering and intimidating Kiwis.

“That is why, as part of National and Act’s coalition agreement, the Government will introduce legislation to ban all gang insignia in public places, and create greater powers to stop criminal gangs from gathering in groups and communicating.”

Mitchell said New Zealanders deserve to feel safe in their homes, communities and public places.

A gang convoy takes to Auckland streets ahead of the funeral for Ponsonby Rd gunman Hone Kay-Selwyn. Photo / Dean Purcell

“For too long gangs have been allowed to behave as if they are above the law. There is no tolerance for this behaviour and these new laws will support police to take action against it.”

Mitchell said the ban on gang patches would apply to funerals/tangi and although funeral services were always emotional events, that didn’t give gang members the right to disrupt and take over public places.

At the time, Mitchell said Coster was 100 per cent on board with the legislation and highly motivated to put it into force.

Gang membership grew under the previous Labour government.

Now in Oppositon, Labour’s Justice spokesman Duncan Webb spoke out at the Government’s plans to ban all gang insignia in public places and create greater powers to stop criminal gangs from gathering in groups and communicating, saying they were impractical and would further stretch police.

Webb claimed there was little evidence gang policies such as the Government announced actually worked.

“This is a superficial policy that adds little if anything to existing powers and even worse, the evidence shows it doesn’t work to reduce gang activity and intimidation,” Webb said.

“We all agree that gang intimidation must stop, but insisting that police use their resources to chase down people for wearing jackets, bandanas, hats, even jewellery like rings, rather than criminal behaviour, is not the best way to do that.”

Killer Beez gang members ahead of Ponsonby gunman Hone Kay-Selwyn's funeral today. Photo / NZME

Last week, in the wake of the fatal Ponsonby shooting carried out by a Killer Beez member – Mitchell said the Government was committed to stamping down on gangs.

“We’ve got comprehensive gang legislation at the moment. It’s a big part of what we want to do around our strategy of dealing with gangs,” he said.

“The police have increased foot patrols in Auckland by about 15. There are reassurance patrols there [on Ponsonby Rd] and we’ve been far more proactive and forward-leaning in terms of the way that police deal with gangs.”