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Gangs Act 2024
The Gangs Act 2024 is a is a statute of the New Zealand Parliament that strengthens police and court powers against criminal gangs, including banning gang insignia, creating dispersal powers to stop gangs gathering in public and non-consorting orders to stop gang members from consorting. It was introduced to Parliament by the Sixth National Government.
The Act was initially introduced as the Gangs Legislation Bill, and divided into the Gangs Act, with the companion Sentencing Amendment Act 2024 making gang membership an aggravating factor in sentencing. The Gangs Act and Sentencing Amendment Act passed their third reading on 19 September 2024.
In 2023, the New Zealand Parliament passed legislation empowering the New Zealand Police to disrupt criminal and gang activity by amending four laws: the Crimes Act 1961, Land and Transport Act 1998, Search and Surveillance Act 2012, and the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act 2009. While campaigning during the lead-up to the 2023 New Zealand general election, National Party leader Christopher Luxon had criticised the Sixth Labour Government for the rapid growth in gang membership, which rose from 4,915 individuals on the National Gang List in April 2017 to 8,875 by April 2023.
The rise in gang membership had also been influenced by a surge in the deportation of New Zealand criminals from Australia under the Section 501 character test introduced by a 2014 amendment to the Migration Act 1958. According to Stuff, these deportees included several leading members of bikie gangs including the Comanchero and Mongols, who established new chapters in New Zealand. By early March 2022, 2,544 New Zealanders had been deported from Australia since 2015. According to Newshub, former 501 deportees accounted for more than 8,000 offences since 2015, including over 2,000 dishonesty convictions, 1,387 violent crime convictions, 861 drug and anti-social behaviour offences and 57 sexual crime offences. Both Police Commissioner Andrew Coster and Luxon attributed the rapid surge in gang membership and organised crime between 2018 and 2022 to repatriated 501 deportees.
On 14 February 2024, the Ministry of Justice released its regulatory impact statement on the Government's proposed Gang Legislation Bill. The Ministry expressed concerned that the legislation would make it more difficult to leave gangs or to desist from crime; undermine the relationship between gangs and government agencies including reducing prevention opportunities and social service delivery; undermine efforts to cultivate pro-social activity within gang communities; and made it harder for families experiencing domestic violence to seek help. The Ministry advocated that the Government continue the status quo of issuing gang conflict warrants, seizing vehicles being driven recklessly, seizing assets linked to organised crime and recruiting 500 new police officers.
On 25 February 2024, Police Minister Mark Mitchell and Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith announced that the Government would introduce a Gang Legislation Bill to ban gang insignia in public places, enable Police to disperse gang gatherings, allow Courts to ban gang members from communicating for at least three years, and giving greater weight to gang membership during sentencing. Mitchell also confirmed the ban on gang insignia would apply to funerals and tangi.
The Gangs Act 2024 is an omnibus bill that seeks to reduce the harmful behaviours caused by criminal gangs and to disincentivise gang membership. It makes displaying gang patches a criminal offence, creates new dispersal powers to stop gang members for gathering in a public area for seven days and create a new non-consorting order which bans specified gang offenders from consorting with each other for a period of three years.
The Bill's definition of gang is based on section 4 of the Prohibition of Gang Insignia in Government Premises Act 2013 while its definition of gang members is based on section 18A of the Search and Surveillance Act 2012. The Bill also gives Police constables the power to issue dispersal notices and the District Courts the power to issue non-consorting orders against gang offenders.
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Gangs Act 2024
The Gangs Act 2024 is a is a statute of the New Zealand Parliament that strengthens police and court powers against criminal gangs, including banning gang insignia, creating dispersal powers to stop gangs gathering in public and non-consorting orders to stop gang members from consorting. It was introduced to Parliament by the Sixth National Government.
The Act was initially introduced as the Gangs Legislation Bill, and divided into the Gangs Act, with the companion Sentencing Amendment Act 2024 making gang membership an aggravating factor in sentencing. The Gangs Act and Sentencing Amendment Act passed their third reading on 19 September 2024.
In 2023, the New Zealand Parliament passed legislation empowering the New Zealand Police to disrupt criminal and gang activity by amending four laws: the Crimes Act 1961, Land and Transport Act 1998, Search and Surveillance Act 2012, and the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act 2009. While campaigning during the lead-up to the 2023 New Zealand general election, National Party leader Christopher Luxon had criticised the Sixth Labour Government for the rapid growth in gang membership, which rose from 4,915 individuals on the National Gang List in April 2017 to 8,875 by April 2023.
The rise in gang membership had also been influenced by a surge in the deportation of New Zealand criminals from Australia under the Section 501 character test introduced by a 2014 amendment to the Migration Act 1958. According to Stuff, these deportees included several leading members of bikie gangs including the Comanchero and Mongols, who established new chapters in New Zealand. By early March 2022, 2,544 New Zealanders had been deported from Australia since 2015. According to Newshub, former 501 deportees accounted for more than 8,000 offences since 2015, including over 2,000 dishonesty convictions, 1,387 violent crime convictions, 861 drug and anti-social behaviour offences and 57 sexual crime offences. Both Police Commissioner Andrew Coster and Luxon attributed the rapid surge in gang membership and organised crime between 2018 and 2022 to repatriated 501 deportees.
On 14 February 2024, the Ministry of Justice released its regulatory impact statement on the Government's proposed Gang Legislation Bill. The Ministry expressed concerned that the legislation would make it more difficult to leave gangs or to desist from crime; undermine the relationship between gangs and government agencies including reducing prevention opportunities and social service delivery; undermine efforts to cultivate pro-social activity within gang communities; and made it harder for families experiencing domestic violence to seek help. The Ministry advocated that the Government continue the status quo of issuing gang conflict warrants, seizing vehicles being driven recklessly, seizing assets linked to organised crime and recruiting 500 new police officers.
On 25 February 2024, Police Minister Mark Mitchell and Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith announced that the Government would introduce a Gang Legislation Bill to ban gang insignia in public places, enable Police to disperse gang gatherings, allow Courts to ban gang members from communicating for at least three years, and giving greater weight to gang membership during sentencing. Mitchell also confirmed the ban on gang insignia would apply to funerals and tangi.
The Gangs Act 2024 is an omnibus bill that seeks to reduce the harmful behaviours caused by criminal gangs and to disincentivise gang membership. It makes displaying gang patches a criminal offence, creates new dispersal powers to stop gang members for gathering in a public area for seven days and create a new non-consorting order which bans specified gang offenders from consorting with each other for a period of three years.
The Bill's definition of gang is based on section 4 of the Prohibition of Gang Insignia in Government Premises Act 2013 while its definition of gang members is based on section 18A of the Search and Surveillance Act 2012. The Bill also gives Police constables the power to issue dispersal notices and the District Courts the power to issue non-consorting orders against gang offenders.