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Police need to drop their "PC" approach to "gang goons" and start using the law they have to hit them where it hurts.
That's the call from former high ranking police officer Detective Inspector Graham Bell and Rotorua's Rendall Jack, the father of murder victim Israel Jack who was reportedly killed at the hands of gang members and prospects.
Rendall Jack said New Zealand already had legislation which allowed police to come down hard on gangs. Yet, in his opinion, the police didn't use it often enough.
Rendall Jack said his son was attacked and killed on Te Ngae Rd by a gang and if gangs were policed more toughly in New Zealand his son would still be alive.
His calls for tougher policing are backed by Bell, who said he had watched the police develop a "softly softly" approach to policing gangs over the years.
He said good old-fashioned, front-line policing that constantly harassed patched gang members needed to be brought back and made a priority.
Rendall Jack has met with New Zealand First deputy leader and Rotorua list MP Fletcher Tabeteau asking for his support.
Tabuteau told the Rotorua Daily Post yesterday gangs were a real problem.
"I spoke with Rendall and I have a great sympathy for him. I made the commitment I would continue that conversation with Government ministers."
In 2013 the Prohibition of Gang Insignia Government Premises Bill, introduced by Rotorua MP Todd McClay, was passed.
It banned gang insignia in public spaces such as schools and swimming pools and gave police power to seize gang patches and official colours of at least 36 named gangs. Offenders face a $2000 fine.
Yesterday Police Commissioner Mike Bush announced a further 500 police to prevent and combat organised criminal networks.
The 500 are part of the 1800 additional officers to be recruited by police, following a $298.8 million increase for police in Budget 2018.
They will be supported by a further 200 district-based officers focused on preventing serious and organised crime, that were recently announced.
Rendall Jack said while it was great police were targeting organised criminal networks, they needed to "hit the gangs where it hurts" by targeting the symbol that they stood for - their patches.
"Gang patches and insignia signify membership, involvement in, and allegiance to a criminal organisation. One that is in the business of dealing drugs."
He said tough policing of legislation that banned criminal gang patches, insignia, colours and consorting of gang members and affiliates in any public place would limit or deny them the ability to intimidate and terrorise in public, advertise their territorial drug businesses and appeal to and recruit prospects for the purpose of threatening and seriously harming others.
"Would this not make our country safer while reducing the likelihood of increasing gang membership, subsequent serious crime and the prison population as well?"
He said recent Department of Corrections figures showed gang numbers in prisons had soared from 2362 five years ago to 4302 in March this year. The new figures showed 40 per cent of the total prison muster had gang links, he said.
"Let's outlaw identified criminal gangs and ban consorting, patches and insignia, so they become the ones looking over their shoulder. Make the patch a target everywhere in public and empower the public."
Bell, who was the head of Rotorua CIB during the 1990s and early 2000s, said most frontline officers were doing their best but he said there seemed to be a departmental approach nowadays that was too soft.
"It's part of this new PC, everyone has a right to their own lifestyle, let's leave people alone mentality. But the softly softly approach isn't working and we need to come down hard on gang goons."
He said while police management had set up organised crime groups, he agreed with Rendall Jack there needed to be a frontline and day-to-day shift.
"Back in the old days - and I'm talking 70s and 80s - they used to have shadow patrols which meant whenever a gang travelled anywhere, a few cars of police would go with them. Wherever they went, they would be there and they'd travel the length and breadth of the country.
"It meant they were constantly rubbing shoulders with them. Gangs got to know the cops and cops got to know the gangs. They fed that information into the higher (police) groups."
Bell said policing gangs today was mainly done electronically, meaning police got warrants to phone tap suspected offenders and they spent months listening in on conversations and monitoring messages.
"While this is effective, those warrants are hard to get."
Bell said when police looked at making laws harder on gangs many years ago "all the liberals and do-gooders" came out and said it wasn't fair.
"They tried to say what's the difference between a gang member wearing a patch and Rotary and Lions displaying their badges. If they are too thick to see the difference between a bunch of criminals and people genuinely doing good then therein lies the problem."
Police heirarchy respond
The Government is giving police the resources they need to "go hard after organised crime", says Police Minister Stuart Nash.
He said the extra 500 officers announced yesterday will be dedicated to disrupting and preventing organised crime, including gangs.
"Organised criminals and gangs are supplying methamphetamine to our communities with no regard for the significant harm it causes. The extra police will be going after them.
"Police will be targeting our most serious offenders and criminal leaders to take them off the street. We need to cut the head off the snake."
He said police would also look to help others on the periphery of gang life and other vulnerable people to get the help they needed to fight addiction, break the cycle, and improve their lives.
"Gang members are free to live their lives in the community if they obey the law and are not involved in criminal activity and anti-social behaviour."
Bay of Plenty District Commander Superintendent Andy McGregor said police were "absolutely committed" to combating the harm caused by gangs and organised criminal groups.
He said adult gang members represented 0.1 per cent of New Zealand's population but they were over-represented in violent criminal offending.
He said the recent Operation Notus caused a major disruption to organised crime and methamphetamine supply with 48 people within the Kawerau Mongrel Mob arrested and almost $3 million in assets restrained.
"Just last week we terminated Operation Notus II which saw the arrests of another seven people and the seizure of methamphetamine and cannabis, 26 firearms and more than $21,000 in cash."
He said in the three months following the termination of Operation Notus there was a 34 per cent reduction in overall crime in Kawerau, compared with the three months prior, including a 50 per cent decrease in violent offending, a 41 per cent decrease in dishonesty offending and a 34 per cent decrease in antisocial and drug related offending.
"Our staff not only target serious criminals for prosecution, but also focus on helping people to walk away from a life of crime."
He said local police focused on putting the users of methamphetamine in contact with appropriate support and treatment services to help them break the downward cycle of addiction.and
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