National Party leader Christopher Luxon. Photo / Marty Melville
National Party leader Christopher Luxon. Photo / Marty Melville
The National Party aims to disrupt gangs from the inside out with its gang policy - which includes non-consorting laws - being unveiled today.
Leader Christopher Luxon is set to announce the new policy at the Northern Regional Conference in Auckland.
Newstalk ZB can reveal a major element of the policy takes a page from Australia's law books - with the Opposition wanting to introduce non-consorting laws that would stop convicted gang members from associating with one another.
The plan would ensure police have the power to issue Consorting Prohibition Notices to known gang offenders to disrupt or restrict their ability to engage in a serious offence.
Once issued, the specified gang offenders would be prohibited from associating or communicating with one another for up to three years.
A known offender includes any gang member who is subject to a Firearms Prohibition Order, has been convicted of a category three or four serious offence, a child sex offence, or any offence under the law of another jurisdiction that, if committed in New Zealand, would constitute one of these offences.
When a gang member can prove they have left a gang and are no longer considered at risk of committing a further serious offence, they can apply to the Police Commissioner to have the notice withdrawn.
National's police spokesman, Mark Mitchell, says part of today's announcement is around what the party wants to do if it's lucky enough to get back into government to deal with the exploding gang problem in New Zealand.
National Party police spokesman Mark Mitchell. Photo / Mark Mitchell
"It has to be a gang member, they have to have a prior conviction for serious offending, then they'll go on the list and can't have anything to do with anyone else on that list for three years," he said.
Serious crime constitutes any offence with a sentence of more than two years.
When asked if the policy will encourage gangs to use younger prospects to do their dirty work - Mitchell said that's what they often do anyway.
"With youth and juvenile offending it's young, wannabe gangsters that want a pathway into the gangs and the gangs use them to go and commit crimes because they know that the sentences are more lenient."
Mitchell says the beauty of the non-consorting law is that it dismantles gangs from the inside out.
"So it means these gang members who are talking with each other, and planning crime and violence, it's going to make it very hard for them to continue to do that.
"We looked all around the world to see what other countries and jurisdictions were doing and obviously Western Australia was experiencing the same sorts of problems we are having with drive-by shootings, lots of gang violence with firearms, intimidation and assaults on the public."
"Although anti-consorting legislation is relatively new for them, it appears to be working," he said.
On Tuesday, Newstalk ZB revealed the Opposition was eyeing up tough Australian anti-bikie laws to see if anything could be used here.
While the likes of Western Australia and Queensland hand out notices to anyone, Mitchell reckons National's struck a good balance by only allowing notices to be served to convicted gang members.
