Police Minister Ginny Andersen’s claims New Zealanders feel safer since Labour came into office is unbelievable given rampant violent crime and retail crime, National’s Justice and acting Police spokesperson Paul Goldsmith says.

“The police minister is gaslighting New Zealanders by saying in an interview on Q&A this morning that the only reason crime is up is because it's being reported more.

“New Zealanders can see with their own eyes retail crime has doubled under Labour and violent crime is up 33 per cent.

“Labour is soft on crime. The addition of 268 new gang members in March and April shows Labour’s attempts to combat gangs are failing.

“The fact that 4 new gang members pledged their allegiance every day in March and April shows that Labour is completely at sea when it comes to dealing with organised crime.

“Since Labour came to power in 2017, the total number of gang members in New Zealand has blown out by 66 per cent.

“This feels out of control, but Labour still doesn’t have a plan. It’s soft-of-crime ideas aren’t working, and there were no announcements in Budget 2023 about how they will tackle the issue.

“Gang members now outnumber Police in five Police districts in New Zealand, and Labour is essentially waving the white flag. Yesterday’s public gang brawl in Palmerston North was a clear example that gangs are unchecked under Labour.

“The sad reality of life under Labour is that, for many, joining a gang is a more attractive proposition than many other pathways. 

“National will fix the economy and restore fiscal discipline, so we can afford the resources frontline Police need and keep Kiwis safe.”

National is backing our frontline police officers and would give them new tools to make their jobs easier. National would:

• Ban gang patches, which have been the recent fuel for the worst gun violence seen in New Zealand.
• Give police non-association powers to prevent gang members from communicating and planning criminal activity.
• Allow police to issue dispersal notices where gang members come together in public to intimidate, threaten, and sometimes assault members of the public.
• Give police the warrantless search powers they need to take the guns out of the hands of violent armed gang members.
• National will also crack down on serious youth offenders by creating young offender military academies.

“National will restore law and order so New Zealanders feel safer.”