Gang patch ban: 'Some of them will probably die for it'

• The new gang patch ban - as well as dispersal and non-consorting laws - take effect today
• Long-term Mongrel Mob member Ching Poipoi says some gang members will fight and die to stop police confiscating their patches
• He says the new patch laws risk jeopardising positive relationships between police and gang whānau in their communities
• A Queensland gang expert says there is little evidence to prove similar laws' effectiveness in Australian states
• Assistant Police Commissioner Paul Basham says he confident police frameworks for risk and confrontation will help them "successfully navigate" enforcement of the laws

A long-term Mongrel Mob member says some gang members will fight and die to defend their patches from being confiscated by police.

People caught displaying gang insignia in public from today will be liable for a $5000 fine or up to six months imprisonment.

Police Minister Mark Mitchell told RNZ enforcement action was taken hours after the ban came into force.

'It's going to spoil a lot of things' - gang member

Ching Poipoi has been a patched member of the Mongrel Mob for more than 30 years.

He said the patch was a crucial part of a gang member's identity and he was sure some would not give them up easily.

"A lot of them will fight for it, and then they're going to lose at the end of the day, for what? For nothing really. I can see some of them doing horrible things for it, you know what I mean, not just us, there's a lot of other gangs you know. Some of them will probably die for it," Poipoi said.

Poipoi said the legislation risked destroying the positive lines of communication between local police and gang whānau in their communities.

"It's going to spoil a lot of things. Friendships amongst us and the police that have been there for years. Some police, well they're like family eh? Some of them [gang members] have got family in the police. It's going to spoil relationships because that member of your family, he's going to be told to come and grab our patch from our house, you know, it's not going to be good," Poipoi said.

Ching said that if the laws were too broadly applied, they risked jeopardising positive initiatives like clothing lines and even local sports teams with gang participation.

Read more:

• 'Subtle adapations' of gan insignia already being seen
• Explainer: What will happen when gang patches are banned

Laws fail to address 'deep set' drivers of activity and membership

Chris Macklin of the New Zealand Law Society said police needed to tread carefully about how they follow up on breaches of the laws.

"Rather than addressing some of the deep set cultural and social drivers of gang activity and gang membership we set the officers of the state even further into an adversarial role. Where they're even more likely to be disrespected, to overstep their marks - even unintentionally - and to portray themselves negatively to young people and other impressionable people," Macklin said.

Macklin said the legislation also risked clogging up the country's courts with charges that only addressed the "tip of the iceberg" of gang behaviour.

Laws successful in Queensland but other 'tough laws' show little effect

In addition to the patch ban, police would be able to issue dispersion notices to gatherings where three or more gang members were present.

Police would also be able to invoke non-consorting orders requiring specified individuals not to associate for three years.

The laws were similar to powers granted to police in Australian jurisdictions, but Queensland-based gang law expert Associate Professor Mark Lauchs said it was still unclear whether their laws had actually been effective in reducing crime.

"So in Queensland, very successful, in so far as we don't see them around the streets anymore.

"The displacement of the hard core crooks to other states meant we also didn't see anywhere near as much serious crime but if you look at New South Wales, Western Australia or even South Australia you don't really see a down beat in the amount of crime or the violence occurring, even though they have tough laws," Lauchs said.

Assistant Commissioner confident NZ police can successfully navigate the laws

Assistant Police Commissioner Paul Basham said police held more than 400 meetings with gang members, their whānau and community groups to ensure people were well informed about the laws.

"It's about, I guess, choice and consequence. If people from the 21st of November choose to wear gang insignia - I would argue that they're doing so deliberately - and they can expect us to follow up and enforce the law," Basham said.

Basham said police dealt with situations of confrontation and tension everyday.

"Every day, every night, up and down the country our officers are dealing with different things. So we have frameworks and templates and for safety - we use a framework called TENR. That's about making assessments into what the threat is, what the exposure is, what the necessity of doing something is and then what the response will be.

"Those frameworks are hardwired into the DNA of our organisation and our staff use them everyday successfully to navigate their way through different things.

"I'm confident that we'll be able to do that relative to this legislation too," Basham said.

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