Backing police, tackling gangs

New Zealanders don’t feel safe in their own communities under a soft-on-crime Labour Government. Gangs are recruiting faster than the police and the Government has voted down 10 bills National has proposed to keep Kiwis safe. Labour’s approach is to tinker around the edges and ignore solutions that will hit gangs where it hurts.

National is the party of law and order, in government, will back police by giving them a range of new powers to disrupt and crack down on gang crime.

Our plan

1. Ban gang patches and insignia in public.

National already made this law in government buildings like schools and hospitals. We would extend these rules to all public spaces. Patches are designed to intimidate law-abiding Kiwis, and are given only to people who have committed a violent crime to show loyalty to a gang.

2. Stop gang members gathering in public.

Police will have the power to issue dispersal notices to anyone they reasonably suspect of being a gang member or prospect. Once issued, gang members would be required to immediately leave a public area and not associate in public with one another for seven days.

3. Stop offenders associating with each other.

Gang crimes don’t just happen; they’re co-ordinated and planned. Police will be able to issue Consorting Prohibition Notices if they need to in order to stop known gang offenders committing serious offences. Once issued, those gang members will not be allowed to associate or communicate with one another for up to three years.

4. Stop gang members accessing guns.

National will give police the power to issue Firearms Prohibition Orders. These could be issued against any gang member who in the past 10 years has been convicted of a serious offence, and would make it illegal for that person to access firearms or enter certain premises where firearms are present. Police would have the power to search people who are subject to a Firearms Prohibition Order, and search their premises or vehicles for firearms at any time.