A National government will introduce new legislation in our first 100 days in office giving police more tools to crack down on gangs, National’s Police spokesperson Mark Mitchell says.

“Under Labour’s soft on crime approach, gang membership has increased by 70 per cent, violent crime is up 33 per cent, and serious assaults have more than doubled.

“Today we are confirming that National’s 100 Day Action Plan will include the introduction of legislation cracking down on gangs and giving Police more tools and powers. Passing these new laws through the Parliament will be a priority for National in government.

“Gangs have been an unwelcome part of New Zealand’s criminal scene for several decades, but over the last six years their numbers and the level of violence they are willing to engage in have increased significantly as Labour have buried their head in the sand.

“While Chris Hipkins defends his government’s decision to continue spending taxpayer money funding gang programmes, like the $2.75 million it gave for a drug rehab programme run by the drug dealing Mongrel Mob, National will back Police by giving them a range of new powers to disrupt and crack down on gang crime.

“New Zealanders are sick of seeing gang members blocking traffic, taking over small towns, intimidating the public, organising ram raids and smash and grabs, and arranging violent assaults in broad daylight, as we saw just last week in Coromandel Township.

“National’s tough new gang laws are based on similar powers introduced in Western Australia that have been highly successfully in dismantling gangs from the inside and halting their ability to operate in public with impunity.”

In our first 100 days, National will introduce legislation to Parliament to:

1. Ban gang patches and insignia in public.
2. Empower police to issue dispersal notices to suspected gang members to prevent public gatherings.
3. Authorise police to issue Consorting Prohibition Notices to prevent known gang offenders from associating for up to three years.
4. Introduce new Firearms Prohibition Orders to prevent gang members from possessing firearms, allowing police warrantless searches of their homes and vehicles.

“National has always been the party of law and order and if we win this year’s election, offenders will certainly know there has been a change of government.

“National will rebuild the economy to bring down the cost of living, deliver tax relief, restore law and order, and deliver better education and healthcare for New Zealanders.”

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