NZ’s new gang laws come into force – what you need to know

The Government’s crackdown on gangs has officially begun, with a series of regulations coming into effect at midnight.

1News breaks down the new rules.

No gang patches in public

Gang patches were already banned from schools, hospitals, courts, and other premises managed by central and local governments, but gang insignia is now banned from all public spaces.

Gang insignia displayed inside cars is also covered by the ban. Police stopped a 51-year-old man in Hastings three minutes after the new laws took effect overnight after seeing a large Mongrel Mob sign on the dashboard of his car. The sign was confiscated and the man was issued with a summons to appear in court, police said.

A person convicted under the gang patch ban is liable to a jail term of up to six months or a fine of up to $5000, according to the Gangs Act.

Repeat offenders would also be subject to a new court order, prohibiting them from possessing any gang insignia, including in their homes, for five years.

Issuing dispersal notices

Police can issue dispersal notices to people they suspect are gang members if three or more of them are gathered in a public place and are believed to be disrupting other members of the public.

The dispersal notices last seven days.

Non-consorting orders

Courts can now issue non-consorting orders which would prevent specific gang members from associating and communicating with each other for three years.

These laws currently apply to 35 gangs listed in the legislation, however organisations can be added or removed from the Act.

The Government said greater weight would also be given to gang membership at sentencing.

No more ‘free rides’

The new laws mean “the free ride for gangs is over”, said Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith and Police Minister Mark Mitchell.

“Gang patches will no longer be able to be worn in public. To earn the right to wear a gang patch you have to have committed violent crime. There [is] a trail of tears and victims behind each one of those gang patches,” Goldsmith said.

“Gangs in our country think they’re above the law and can choose which laws they comply with, and this Government does not accept that.”

Mitchell said Labour “did absolutely nothing” to stem an increase in gang membership during its time in government.

“Between their offender-oriented approach to justice and their rotating carousel of police ministers, gang life was far more appealing than it should ever be to any young New Zealander,” he said.

“Our message to the gangs is clear – the days of behaving like you are above the law are over.”

‘A step backwards’

Not everyone believes the new gang laws will have the effect the Government wants.

Labour leader Chris Hipkins told Breakfast today the regulations would not result in fewer gang members.

“It’s a big ask for the police to be forcibly removing every gang patch every time they see one – that’s probably going to result in more work for a relatively futile exercise for the police,” he said.

Hipkins also pointed to “decades of research” that said reducing gang activity came down to preventing people getting involved with a gang from the outset.

“And how do you stop them joining gangs in the first place? You tackle the underlying causes of poverty and isolation,” he said.

A new independent research programme commissioned by the police also suggests the new regulations won’t impact crime rates – and could make the situation worse.

“Overall, the new gang patch legislation was seen as a step backward, undermining previous efforts to work constructively with gang communities and fostering a more punitive, less effective approach,” the report said.

“Participants pointed out that recent legislation to ban gang patches and association may not effectively reduce crime and could lead to further marginalisation of gang members, potentially exacerbating tensions.”