New Zealand passes tougher laws to tighten gangs

Wellington, Sep 20 (IANS) New Zealand has passed tougher laws to ban gang insignia in all public places, and allow courts to issue non-consorting orders and police to stop criminal gangs from associating and communicating.

Legislation passed through Parliament on Thursday, to be effective from November 21, will provide police and the courts with additional tools to crack down on gangs that "peddle misery and intimidation throughout New Zealand," said Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith.

Greater weight will also be given to gang membership at sentencing, enabling courts to impose more severe punishments, Goldsmith said, adding that gang membership has increased 51 per cent over the last five years, alongside violent crime increasing 33 per cent, Xinhua news agency reported.

"Repeat offenders continually convicted of displaying their patches in public will be subject to a new court order, prohibiting them from possessing any gang insignia either in public or private for five years," the minister said, adding that gang insignia being displayed from inside a private vehicle will also be covered by the patch ban.

Regarding disruptive gang events, police will have the power to issue dispersal notices to break up public gang gatherings and to place a non-association order on those involved for the week following the event, he said.

Non-consorting orders issued by the courts will prevent the most serious gang criminals from associating and communicating with one another for three years, where there is a risk of them planning or committing further gang crime, Goldsmith said.

Gang members make up less than one-quarter of one per cent of the New Zealand adult population, yet are linked to 18 per cent of all serious violent crimes, 19 per cent of all homicides, 23 per cent of all firearms offences, 25 per cent of all kidnapping and abductions, and 25 per cent of all the crime harm caused by illicit drug offences, ministry statistics showed.