The roll-out of the Government’s flagship anti-gang taskforce appears to be dragging and has not officially launched, despite assurances it would be set up by the start of the month.
Newstalk ZB can reveal the National Gangs Unit - touted by Police Minister Mark Mitchell as a means to “make New Zealand a miserable place for gang members” - is still in the consultation phase, almost two weeks after it was meant to be established.
Documents, obtained under the Official Information Act, revealed details about staffing, resources, costs, structures and operating models were still in the design stages as of June 25 – less than a week before the unit’s heralded start date.
And details about the “design stages” were not provided as, according to National Gang Unit acting director Daryl Smith, that information is “not currently held”.
Despite this, Mitchell insists the National Gang Unit was officially stood up on July 1, as promised when the unit was announced in mid-May.
He said police are carrying out consultation with staff on the final shape of the model and resourcing requirements, and work on this was expected to be completed by the end of the month.
A Police spokesperson said critical leadership positions are in place and are being led by the acting director, but “additional roles will be planned to be established and transferred in the coming weeks”.
“A further 15 staff are working in projects to support the director to design and implement a new gang operating model and support legislative readiness,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
At the time of its announcement, Police Commissioner Andrew Coster said the unit would be a dedicated, specialised group of 25-30 people – with up to seven staff ring-fenced in every police district.
Mitchell said he appreciates there is an operational process involved, but he is satisfied Police are working through it “as quickly as possible”.
Labour police spokesperson Ginny Andersen, however, argued the unit could not be called “established” at all, if staff aren’t in the roles to do the job.
“Giving cops a new name and telling them to take off gang patches looks good on the telly, but doesn’t do anything long-term to stop gangs,” she said.
“There is no underlying work to dig out the roots of organised crime. I believe there is a lack of understanding about how to make a difference on crime.”
In May, Mitchell said the new unit would “bring to bear the highest levels of Police expertise in targeting and harassing gang members – and make maximum use of new tools to supress and contain the misery that gangs cause”.
That includes legislative changes to ban gang insignia in public places and create greater powers for Police to stop criminal gangs from gathering in groups and communicating.
Commissioner Coster said the national unit was a continuation of Operation Cobalt, which was launched under the last government to tackle gang activity.
Andersen said officers are rolling their eyes at the idea of a new taskforce, and claimed the policy is just window dressing.
She speculated that the process likely had not been completed, because there is not enough staff.
“They’re going to have to take cops from jobs they’re doing already and reallocate them for this work. They are doing the same work anyway – but with a different label on them.”
Mitchell said the Government does have a clear law and order agenda to get on top of crime, and ensure New Zealanders feel – and are – safer.
“The establishment of the National Gang Unit will ensure a dedicated resource to catch priority gang offenders,” he said.