WELLINGTON, May 14 (Xinhua) -- The New Zealand government has set up a National Gang Unit and district Gang Disruption Units to help restore law and order and crack down on criminal gangs, Police Minister Mark Mitchell said on Tuesday.
The National Gang Unit and Gang Disruption Units will bring to bear the highest levels of police expertise in targeting and harassing gang members and make maximum use of new tools to suppress and contain the misery that gangs cause, Mitchell said.
"Gangs exist only to cause and perpetuate violence and misery in our communities," he said, adding New Zealand saw a 73-percent increase in gang membership from 2017 to 2023, which had impacted communities.
In addition, police are investing in Gang Disruption Units at district levels to identify, target and catch priority gang offenders.
"It is totally unacceptable that there is a group in society that believes it is above the law," Mitchell said, adding the police have planned to recruit 500 additional members to crack down on gang offending, introducing legislation to ban all gang insignia in public, create greater powers to stop criminal gangs from gathering in groups and communicating, and give greater weight to gang membership at sentencing. ■
