PM Christopher Luxon appeared to get visibly frustrated over a line of questioning about the national gang list during a press conference today. Video / Mark Mitchell
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon appeared to become frustrated with line of questioning about gang numbers during a press conference today, saying; “It’s not about the frickin targets.”
Luxon, Police Minister Mark Mitchell and Police Deputy Commissioner Jevon McSkimming spoke to media from the Police National Headquarters after today’s announcement of extra anti-gang police officers.
But when a reporter questioned Luxon and Mitchell about police removing gang members off the national gang list as part of “sanitising” it – including the removal of deceased people – Mitchell and Luxon appeared to become visibly frustrated.
The reporter suggested it was “convenient” for the Government for gang numbers to reduce and questioned if the Government had asked police to do it.
“It’s not about the frickin targets, it’s about outcomes.”
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Police Minister Mark Mitchell speak from Wellington after additional police officers are added to the force. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Luxon said the outcomes were reducing violent crime incidents.
Another reporter asked if the Government would start celebrating that the number of gang members on the national gang list were going down.
McSkimming said over the last year, police had been doing a lot of “validation” of the national gang list.
He said the tactical response model would focus on the most harmful, violent offenders.
The press conference came after police confirmed another 77 police officers would operate through its national and regional gang disruption units.
Of the 77, 14 were in Auckland and groups of 10 or fewer officers were situated in other regions. Five staff formed the national unit.
Police Commissioner Andrew Coster promised the gang disruption workforce would further increase through “repurposing of some existing positions, once a full demand profile is completed”.
“The Gang Disruption Units will be focused on gang enforcement, and in particular enforcing the new gangs legislation when it comes into effect,” Coster said.
Luxon said the crackdown on gangs by the police and the Government had been “very obvious”. He said gangs drove a fifth of violent crime and he made “no apologies” for going after them.
On the Gangs Bill, Luxon said concerns from opposition police spokesperson Ginny Andersen that the law turned the police into the “closet” police, in reference to the gang patch ban, were a “load of rubbish”, and said there was a period of consultation regarding the proposed ban on gang patches in the home.
“I want police to have the maximum amount of tools ... we are going to harass gangs,” he said.
Mitchell said police were preparing for the new legislation, including making sure staff understood the new laws and getting trained in the new techniques they needed to enforce them.
On the risk of inflaming tensions with these new moves, Mitchell said the police were very used to dealing with gangs.
In addition, 70 officers will be allocated to increase the overall community patrol team to 160 officers across the country.
Sixty-three were based in the Auckland police districts with 21 in the CBD. There were 18 in Waikato, 17 in Wellington and Bay of Plenty, 11 in Northland, 10 in Canterbury, eight in Central, seven in Eastern, four in Tasman and four in Southern.
