Police Commissioner Andrew Coster says the workforce for a new police unit targeting gangs will “likely” come from groups whose existing jobs are “aligned with this area of work”.
The National Gang Unit and District Disruption Units will target crime, harm and intimidation caused by gangs.
Coster said the unit would likely be made up of between 25 and 30 people, as well as district teams of around seven people per unit.
No specific targets have been set for the unit and no figure has yet been put on its cost.
He told Breakfast this morning that the new initiative will “absolutely” work.
“This will set us up to enforce new legislation and make the most of tools that allow us to reduce the visible presence of gangs in communities, the intimidation that they cause, and we are aiming for an overall reduction in the harm from gangs.
“There’s legislation in Parliament that will ban gang patches in public places, it also offers new powers in terms of anti-consorting orders, and so we want to be as well placed as we can to enforce that new legislation.”
Asked about where the team members would come from, Coster said: “This will be a mix of re-prioritised and new investment.
“We can’t get ahead of Budget announcements, and also the announcement yesterday opens the door for us to consult with staff who may become part of these groups in future.”
He suggested the staff wouldn’t come from the existing ranks of frontline police.
“It’s more likely to be groups whose existing role is aligned with this area of work, we do have some groups in that category.
“I’m not going to go into detail, because we have to do them the honour of speaking to them first about that, but we have in mind some groups that we think will become part of this new capability.”
And the Unit won’t be working 24/7, Coster said.
“Their role really will be to understand the local gang landscape, identify the people who are causing the most harm and to focus on those people,” he explained, adding an “all-of-policing approach” will continue.
“It will require resources across the organisation to enforce this patch ban when it comes in.
“We will know we’ve been successful when we’ve reduced the visible presence of gangs in the community and when people are less fearful of gangs as a result of our work.”
Sociologist and gang expert Jarrod Gilbert said he believes the move will affect the “overt” presence of gangs.
![Jarrod Gilbert.](https://tvnz-1-news-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/jarrod-gilbert-QB5GMCLMHVB4NMVOVBVVR3XSZ4.png?auth=d77aba9d24ce42b389d7a1a3da30faa061bac2669cabf3c8c7267db317428c49&quality=70&width=767&height=431&focal=960%2C540)
“If good intelligence is gathered, and the police can get ahead of that, there’s every chance it will impact on that,” he said.
“And then of course we’re waiting for this suite of laws to come through this year, and to see what impact they have, and that’s the million-dollar question I think.
“I’d be prepared to bet anybody … that we will not see, because of the patch ban, a reduction in crime.
“It’s just the look of the gang, it’s not actually targeting criminal behaviours.”
He said reducing the visibility of gangs could actually be disadvantageous to the police.
“It’ll push them underground, so certain activities — like drug dealing for example — will become far more difficult to detect.
“So perversely, it may assist their activities in that sense.”
‘Difficult to see what’s new here’ – Hipkins
![Labour Party leader Chris Hipkins.](https://tvnz-1-news-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/labour-party-leader-chris-hipkins-JWRTPYM3BRHWNDRUDMNPAOBEV4.jpg?auth=7d43ad4aa1952b225f684796677d4e7f46089470a80ced84ef519c5f12172c33&quality=70&width=767&height=431&focal=501%2C171)
Labour leader Chris Hipkins said the new unit was “much the same thing” as the Organised Crime Unit.
“There was a thing called Operation Cobalt, which was operating across the country,” he added.
“This work is ongoing and it’s difficult to kind of see what’s new here.
“They haven’t given us the money numbers yet … That will need to be significant if it’s actually going to be anything different.”
He had a similar view of the ban on gang patches in public.
“It’s difficult to see that that’s gonna make any difference.
“It makes gang members harder to spot, which makes life more difficult for the police — and actually members of the public who may find themselves around gang members without being aware that they’re around gang members.”