New Gangs Act misses the mark like Australia

Gideon Porter Eugene Ryder | New Gangs Act misses the mark like Australia

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The new Gangs Act takes effect this Thursday, granting police increased powers to disrupt and directly target gang activity.

The legislation includes banning gang patches in public, prohibiting gang gatherings, and making gang membership an aggravating factor in sentencing.

Over 75% of current adult legacy gang members are Māori, but youth street gang numbers are also on the rise.

Community advocate and former gang member Eugene Ryder says similar gang-busting initiatives in Australia have been largely ineffective, except for deporting gang members back to Aotearoa.

“We hear it every election, who’s got the biggest stick to bash the gangs. I think something like 15 years ago gang legislation was introduced in Australia to wipe out the gangs… um so if it worked there’d be no gangs in Australia today, and yeah, we know that to be different,” says Ryder.

Eugene Ryder says it’s ironic the Abuse in State Care report revealed that 90% of gang members experienced abuse while in care – so while the government apologised to them last week, it is now preparing to introduce harsher penalties…. when the real solution lies in addressing the root causes of crime.

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