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Download AudioA Māori criminal law expert says a new law giving police sweeping powers to search homes for gang patches is yet another assault on Māoridom.
AUT dean of law Kylee Quince says the Gangs Legislation Amendment Bill has been badly drafted and shows that the coalition Government is making decisions against the advice of its departments.
She says a last-minute change allowing searches of homes when people repeatedly break the ban on wearing gang patches in public potentially breaches the human rights of all occupants of a dwelling.
“The concern there of course is that police may use it as a pretext or an excuse or justification, to conduct a search of a house on the basis of ‘we believe that this is a known gang house, and therefore there will be people wearing patches in there’,” Associate Professor Quince says.
She says most New Zealanders will never come across a gang member – but being tough on gangs is a way for politicians to avoid any serious evidence-based efforts to address crime.
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