The moment a motorist knocks down a gang member in a road-rage incident. Video / Supplied
New legislation created to crack down on gun violence committed by gangs lacks sufficient evidence and could devalue effective methods in place to reduce crime, according to the Privacy Commission.
The claim comes alongside calls for laws aimed at limiting crime to be developed in a victim-centric fashion, with a focus on decreasing the majority proportion of offending that goes unreported, due to the complex relationships between offenders and victims, and the outdated nature of the justice system.
Deputy Privacy Commissioner Liz MacPherson was one of those making submissions to the justice select committee today regarding the Criminal Activity Intervention Legislation Bill - part of a package of legislative reform that aimed to give police more tools to tackle gangs.
In July when the reform was announced, at least 23 houses had been targeted in drive-by shootings in the space of a fortnight. Police Minister Chris Hipkins at the time conceded that gang tensions had deteriorated in the past 18 months and the Government needed to do more to curb the violence.
Among the new powers afforded by the bill, it included an amendment to Search and Surveillance Act 2012 to provide a new warrant power to search for and seize weapons during a gang conflict.
MacPherson, standing in for Privacy Commissioner Michael Webster who was unavailable due to illness, said the “precedent-setting design” of the search powers raised several concerns.
“We have not yet seen evidence that proposed new warrant power is an effective measure to address gang harm by removing weapons from gang conflicts,” she told committee members.
“The proposed new warrant power represents a notable departure from the established approach to the use of search powers that require police to have reasonable grounds to suspect a criminal act is occurring or will occur.
“Although it is implicit that the search is for unlawful weapons, this reasonable suspicion standard regarding offending should not be bypassed without careful consideration of the potential risks, particularly the potential for disproportionate use.”
Deputy Privacy Commissioner Liz MacPherson was standing in for Privacy Commissioner Michael Webster who was unavailable due to illness. Photo / Mark Mitchell
She cited evidence from the United Kingdom following the evaluation of stop and search powers afforded to police that reportedly showed disproportionate use on youth and minorities, and how the majority of searches didn’t lead to the discovery of weapons.
“The introduction of these novel search powers may potentially impact on other current community interventions, intensify animosity towards the police and erode trust in the state.”
She confirmed the office of the Privacy Commissioner did not support the enactment of the new power but said if it was approved, the office should be consulted in order to provide “practical safeguards” and implement future reviews to establish its worth.
MacPherson was followed by members of the New Zealand Council of Victim Support, who were concerned the bill would not make the country safer or allow police to adequately respond to crime.
Council researcher Dr Petrina Hargrave believed there should be a stronger focus on victims of unreported crime, noting just 25 per cent of crime was reported.
“Research suggests that most victims of gang-related crime are associated with gangs already and therefore may not report crime or be willing to engage with the criminal justice system.”
Chief executive James McCulloch gave recommended future legislation be guided by victim-centric and evidence-based approaches, and that gang violence was addressed through cross-government and cross-agency responses to identify the most appropriate approaches.
