A new "relational" approach by police to working with gang members should not leave anyone worrying about crimes going unpunished, says Wanganui MP Chester Borrows.
The approach will involve building circles of trust with gang members who want something different for their children and themselves, but does not mean police will be cracking down on crime any less.
"One important thing is the public get worried if officers start negotiating with gangs on behaviour," he said.
"We don't negotiate on behaviour. Just because we want to work for positive outcomes doesn't mean we're turning a blind eye to their offending."
The working with families will include parenting programmes, early childhood education, out-of-school activities, and directing gang members toward work, health and addiction services, and educational opportunities.
It also targets those gang members actively engaged in crime.
Mr Borrows said that, in order to get positive outcomes there needed to be trust and good faith between all parties.
It was important to remember, he said, that many people had no choice in being affiliated with gangs - in some communities people were connected to them whether they wanted to be or not.
"It really sickens me to see a 12-month- old baby wearing a Mongrel Mob patch," he said.
He was passionate that gang children be given a better start in life, and this new approach aimed to make that happen.
"We want all our kids to do well," he said. "That means gang kids as well as other people's kids.
"How fair is it for a child who happens to be born into a gang family to be written off because of their parents?
Police spokesperson Sara Stavropolous said the approach was part of a focus on prevention.
"It's about police working with other agencies and gangs, just as we are working cooperatively in many other areas to prevent crime," she said.
"The focus on enforcement does not change - and we accept it will take time to build the trust needed for this approach to be successful."
Rethinking Crime spokesperson Kim Workman said the approach had reduced crime by 73 per cent when it was used in New York.
"The police, because of their daily contact with the community, understand better than most justice sector agencies that offender transformation doesn't happen within treatment programmes," Mr Workman said.
"The focus for behavioural change lies not within individuals undergoing cognitive behavioural programmes - it truly happens when families, whanau are involved and are there to hold offenders accountable, and provide the support necessary for change to occur."
Mr Workman said police understood better than anyone else that changes didn't occur through policies of suppression and control.
"They occur through building relationships and networks, which support offenders and prisoners long after they offend, receive treatment, or are released from prison."