Teenage gangs on rise in Rotorua

Growing numbers of youth gangs are tagging our buildings, bullying our children, fighting one another and burgling our homes.

Police say children as young as 10 are joining or forming growing numbers of youth gangs in Rotorua, prompting a crackdown.

Rotorua police have confirmed about six new youth gangs have sprung up in the city since Christmas. The members, aged between 10 and 17, are breaking into houses, tagging, fighting and intimidating locals.

The new youth gangs are separate to the city's traditional Eastside and Westside gangs who wear red and blue bandannas and clothing - with some wearing purple, green and yellow.

The crackdown is timely, following claims South Auckland youth gangs are recruiting in Rotorua.

John Paul College principal Patrick Walsh, a former deputy principal at a troubled South Auckland school, says he has heard from his former students that youth gangs, such as the Bloods and the Crips, were setting their sights on Rotorua and Whangarei.

He said the South Auckland gangs were using other young family members living in the two cities to set up more youth gangs.

Mr Walsh said in the mid 1990s when he was at Mangere's De La Salle College there was talk about youth gangs in South Auckland but the police and the local council were "complacent".

"They realised too late and by then the youth gangs had a good strong hold and it became too hard to correct. I hope we don't end up with that situation in Rotorua."

Mr Walsh said tagging increased in Mangere during that time.

"Youth gangs use taggings to indicate the territory that belongs to them. You end up having turf wars between gangs."

He called for Rotorua to take a "zero tolerance" approach to tagging.

"If you don't do anything about it, you will wake up one day and find you have a major problem on your doorstep."

Mr Walsh said the establishment of youth gangs in Rotorua would be a "death knell for tourism".

Rotorua police area tactical response manager Inspector Greg Sparrow said he noticed the new gangs in Rotorua on New Year's Eve.



"I don't want to put the frighteners on people because these gangs come and go but there has been an increase in numbers ... They are all tied up in their colours. It seems rather stupid to me that they want to fight about the colours they wear."

Mr Sparrow said he feared the members would graduate to other more established gangs.

"What I worry about is they are used by the larger gangs as a feeder."

Mr Sparrow said Rotorua police were hammering the youth gangs, arresting them and holding them accountable. Police were also regularly visiting their homes.

He said they had also photographed most of the members and their tags to help make arrests.

He said members of the public could help more by letting police know about their antics when they happened, not some time later.

Neighbourhood Support co-ordinator Barrie Fenton said his members had told him one of the gangs hung out at the shops at Owhata, on Te Ngae Rd, intimidating locals.

*Can you help? Ring (0800) TIPOFF if you know of youth gangs committing crime.