“There was some debate around whether gang insignia being displayed inside a car would be covered by the ban. We decided to clarify and make sure it was covered completely.”
It will be the second last-minute amendment to the legislation which is set to go through its final reading on Thursday. It is likely to increase calls for the Gangs Bill to be sent back to select committee so the new clauses can be subjected to public scrutiny.
The new amendment will mean Parliament will have to take the rare step of going back into the earlier committee stages of the bill – the stage at which amendments are debated and voted on for inclusion in the bill.
Once the amendment is adopted, Parliament is expected to move straight to the third reading to pass the legislation on the same day.
There are already calls for further select committee scrutiny following the Government’s earlier last-minute addition to the bill – the gang insignia prohibition orders, which ban those who repeatedly breach the gang-patch ban from having any gang insignia in their home – even if somebody else owns it. The orders give police powers to search the home for any insignia.
Goldsmith was unapologetic about the late changes this week.
“What we are doing is bringing in legislation that’s designed to give extra tools to the police to deal with gangs who are causing mayhem in our communities. And we’re comfortable with our approach.”
Goldsmith said police would use their discretion, and it was hard to say how long it would take to have impact. “But we’re sending a very strong signal that the public is fed up with the intimidation and fear, and we want a firm response.”
The Government had originally wanted the gang patch ban to apply to anything visible to the public including, for example, something worn in a private house near a window facing the street.
That was dropped following advice from Ministry of Justice officials that it would risk criminalising harmless behaviour, but the same could apply to a patch on a car parked in a private driveway - but visible to someone walking on the street.
The gang insignia prohibition orders were put through as an amendment about a month after the bill went through the select committee, despite coming from a police request in March – a move that was criticised because of potential Bill of Rights Act implications and the lack of any public input.
The ban on gang insignia is part of a suite of anti-gang measures that include giving police the power to disperse gang members from public places, and non-consorting orders banning certain gang members from associating with each other.
The Government has said the new prohibition order went through a full Cabinet process and was to give police what they need to tackle gangs.
