Gangs Act: New Zealand police lay 38 charges, seize patches across country but none in Northern Territory or South

This man, a 51-year-old Napier man who was stopped by police, noticed a large Mongrel Mob sign on the dashboard of his car.

Police as far south as Auckland and Canterbury have since laid charges under the law.

However, New Zealand’s northernmost and southernmost police districts have not yet begun implementation.

In Northland, 391 gang members on the National Gang List appeared to be complying with the introduced laws, according to February records.

“At this point we are seeing signs that gangs are making good decisions regarding the new rules,” a police spokesman said.

In 2022, patches were being removed in the famous Far North town of Kaikohe. Scene of violent conflict between former allied gangs Tribesmen and Killer Beez.

Linda Bracken, vice president of the Kaikohe Business Association, said the patches were very visible before the ban but are almost invisible now.

“Visibly, when they’re walking down the street and they’re out on their bikes, they’re not wearing their patches.”

The bikes and visible gang colors still make them recognizable, Bracken said.

“They don’t want to lose their patches… Their patches are very valuable to them.”

Bracken felt that removing the patches from public view stopped the massive fear in the public.

It wasn’t just the police who kept the gangs in line.

Bracken said he told a gang member who walked into a business in Kaikohe that they were asked to stay there but had to take off their patched jackets.

“They’re trying to find a compromise. You’re not allowed to wear it anymore, it’s not legal anymore, please take it off but you can keep it like everyone else keeps their jacket.”

A police officer told Northern Advocate They were relieved about the level of compliance they saw.

Civil servants were in fear before the ban came into force Enforcement of gang patch ban will lead to more attacks on police in rural areas.

The police association also warned It would be difficult to enforce gang patch bans in small Northland towns with one or two officers.

When discussing aid in gang hotspots, former police commissioner Andrew Coster said the prevalence of gangs, particularly in smaller provincial centers such as Northland, did not quite match the prevalence of the police.

And Although there are doubts about the accuracy of gang list figuresThe number of personnel on the gang list for Northland in February was six fewer than the police’s tally of full-time police personnel in the region in June.

As for the southern police district, police said the reason for the zero count was simple: no law violations were detected.

In June the area, which covers the area from Stewart Island to the Waitaki River and west to Haast, had 607 full-time police personnel and 297 patched members on the National Gangs Register as of February.

Deputy police commissioner Paul Basham said police across the country were reporting good levels of compliance with the new laws.

“We have seen and continue to see isolated examples of poor decision-making and our staff have done an excellent job of effectively enforcing any violations.

“Police laid 38 charges in the first seven days, seized 16 patches and 62 gang insignia, including a department head’s motorbike, and we have a number of additional search warrants in the works as part of active investigations.”

Violation of the ban will be punishable by up to six months in prison or a $5,000 fine, and the emblems will have to be forfeited and destroyed.