Police News June 07.indd - New Zealand Police Association

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PoliceNewsThe Voice of PoliceAssociation calls for Commission ofInquiry into gangs and organised crimeBy Steve Plowman, Editor, Police NewsThe Police Association has renewed its call for a Commission of Inquiryinto gangs and organised crime.Association President, Greg O’Connor, suggested a Commission ofInquiry would be a first step in dealing to a growing gang problemin the wake of the fatal shooting of a the two-year-old daughter of apatched Black Power member in Wanganui. The fatal shooting occurredas a result of a drive-by shooting. Several shots were fired into a houseoccupied by Black Power members. It is alleged that rival Mongrel Mobmembers were responsible for the shooting.Tip of the ‘ice’-berg“We began saying that an inquiry was needed as far back as 2003 andit would be inevitable that innocent people would be killed and thisis exactly what has happened,” Mr O’Connor said. “The sort of gangviolence that is boiling over in towns and cities around New Zealandis merely the tip of the ‘ice’-berg. Underlying these turf wars, are themillions of dollars at stake in controlling the ‘P’ market.”“Every year that goes by and the authorities fail to understand theextent of the sphere of intimidation of the burgeoning organised crimeindustry, then the amount of time and investment needed to root themout in the future just increases, if indeed that will be possible,” he said.“Millions of dollars have been spent on an inquiry into Police behaviour,now it is time to start concentrating on the behaviour of our organisedcriminals,” Mr O’Connor said.Threat to NZ’s security“Until we understand the extent of the problem, we will not be able toproperly focus our efforts on exterminating this threat to New Zealand’ssecurity.”New Zealand First MP, Ron Mark, has led the chorus of public andpolitical concern in the wake of the killing of the young girl. Mr Marksaid that gangs were a blight on society and as organised criminalenterprises needed to be dealt with in the same way that many countriesdealt with terrorist organisations – by putting laws in place to make itillegal to belong to them.Other politicians have said that such laws would only drive the gangsunderground but Police are all too aware that many of the gangshave already started converting their criminal wealth through moneylaundering through legitimate businesses in order to do just that.Wanganui mayor Michael Laws recently got support from formerpolice officer and National Party Police spokesman, Chester Borrows, inhaving legislation tabled in Parliament that would outlaw the wearingof gang patches and other regalia in public places. The Government hassaid such a ban would be difficult to enforce.Government action?Meanwhile the Government has said it will look at strengtheningintimidation laws, possibly by amending the Criminal Proceeds(Recovery) Bill, which is currently before Parliament.Prime Minister, Helen Clark, said recently that officials would belooking at legislative ways in which intimidating behaviour by gangscould be dealt with.For decades, politicians have debated how best to deal withgangs with little effect on their burgeoning criminal empires ormemberships. The Black Power and Mongrel Mob continue to attracta steady stream of disaffected mainly Maori youth, many effectivelyfamily ‘cast-offs’ from parents who have long since abdicated anyparental responsibility for their offspring. Many gangs have becomegenerational enterprises, quagmired in crime and knowing no otherlifestyle.Disaffected youthDisaffected young people provide fertile ground for gang recruiters,who seek out prospects who come up through the ranks by sellingdrugs in schools, robbing neighbourhood dairies and engaging inbeing as ‘staunch’ as possible. These actions are all in the hope ofwinning gang leadership approval in a misguided effort to eventuallyreceive their coveted patch. Such is the draw of being ‘patched’ thatmany young prospects will admit to crimes, which have actuallybeen done by senior gang members.Police sources say that senior gang members in the established gangshave, in some instances, lost control of younger members. Theyounger members use of P is fuelling the divisions between youngand old within some gangs.While the Mongrel Mob, Black Power and Hells Angels have beenaround for decades there is a new breed of gang on the street that isbecoming the scourge of towns and cities – youth gangs who pickout lone victims for beatings and robberies or who fight amongstthemselves. They organise themselves into ‘crews’ with names like‘Bloods’ and “Crips”, trying to emulate American street gangs whoare glorified in gangster rap and hip hop songs.Strutting for the camerasThe sight of gang members, with bandannas drawn down over theirfaces and posing for the media like strutting peacocks and makingcalls like baying dogs will have sickened most New Zealanders. Itwill also have brought home to them it is high time that tougher,more positive action takes the place of long-term political rhetoric inthe fight against such organised criminal enterprises.It seems highly doubtful that Jhia Harmony Te Tua’s death willcause reflection at a widespread level within gangs – though it maydo at an individual level for some – given the thoroughly entrenchednature of the gang mentality.There are many who will hope that this young girl’s tragic death willbe the catalyst for finally getting some consensus on how best to dealwith the gang problem and the Association’s call for a Commissionof Inquiry could be a first step in the right direction. Whether thepolitical will to do so remains after the original furore over the weegirl’s death has subsided, will be at the heart of whether that call isheeded though.102June 2007
New Zealand Police AssociationThe question of what to do about gangsNZ Police Association President, Greg O’Connor, talked toPolice News about issues relating to dealing with gangs after thefatal shooting of two-year-old Jhia Harmony Te Tua in Wanganuirecently. Mr O’Connor had a significant involvement with thegang culture during his time as an undercover operative. Hereare his reflections in a question and answer session:Q: Why is it necessary to have a Commission of Inquiry intogangs and organised crime?A: Having seen the commitment both the Commissioner and theGovernment have given to implementing the recommendations ofDame Margaret Bazley’s Commission Of Inquiry into Police Conductreport, I feel that a similar Commission of Inquiry is essential if aserious co-ordinated and well-resourced strategy is to be employedagainst organised crime in New Zealand.While Police do have much information it is unco-ordinated andtends to be used in the investigation of individual crimes ratherthan as a co-ordinated operation against crime groups. A very goodexample is the current homicide investigation following the gangshooting of a two-year-old girl in Wanganui.Once the offenders are located, the inquiry will end and no effortwill be made to address the broader issues around the cause of theconflict, i.e. a turf war over drug distribution and other crime. Aproperly constructed and empowered Commission would, firstly,not be so hampered around the need to prepare an evidential case.It could be much more broad ranging than an evidential inquiry. Itwould also have the impact of informing New Zealanders of howdeeply entrenched in New Zealand society these organised criminalgroups are.Q: Should Police and politicians be meeting with gangleaders?A: Police and political leaders should only ever meet with gangleaders if a meeting is so requested by the gang leaders and thatwould be because those gang leaders were feeling under suchpressure that it is curtailing their criminal activities. Police andpoliticians should only meet with such gangs to inform them thatthe pressure will continue until they stop committing crime. Anyattempt at detente of any type merely empowers those gang leadersin the eyes of their own and of the public. Many of those members ofthe public, who are the victims of gang crime, are from lower socioeconomicbackgrounds.Q: Is NZ First MP Ron Mark correct in his assertion thatgangs are effectively New Zealand’s terrorist organisations?A: Gangs are not terrorist organisations; they are organised groupsof criminals in which a few leaders become wealthy and powerfulthrough the efforts of their underlings. To describe them as terroristsin any way mobilises them or indicates they have a cause. The onlycause they have is to make money out of crime, through theircollective ability to intimidate people.Q: What more can be done to stop disaffected youth fromjoining gangs?A: Youth will want to join gangs while senior gang membersremain the dominant male role models. In lower socio-economicbackgrounds, mostly Maori and Polynesian communities, youngpeople will naturally be attracted to a lifestyle they perceive asdelivering wealth and freedom from the monotony of a normalworking life. This is why it is important for politicians, senior Policeand the media to not add to the allure of the gang culture by meetingwith gang leaders and boosting their public image.Q: Should gang patches and other regalia be banned inpublic places?A: While there is a legitimate argument that it is easier to identifygang members if they are wearing gang regalia, a stronger argumentis that forcing such members to hide their patches when approachedby Police does diminish the power of the patch. Also, at times ofgang tension, such as has been experienced in Wanganui, it doesgive Police a tool to arrest and put pressure on individual gangmembers, and to obtain information on them, knowing that if theystrut their stuff in public places or even embark on motorcycle runs,then they will automatically be arrested. This will assist in reducingthe attractiveness of gangs to young people.Q: Gangs are heavily involved in the distribution of illegaldrugs such as P. What new powers, if any, do the Police needto deal with this problem?A: The main power required by Police is effective asset seizure. Thegangs are now well entrenched in the P industry and drug distributionand only by taking the profit out of crime will we discourage peoplefrom becoming involved in what is a very lucrative industry.Q: Is it time New Zealand looked at making it illegal to belongto a gang? Should there be “non-association” laws?A: It is probably impractical to make gangs illegal, as the necessarylaws to protect our democracy will inevitably give gangs protectionagainst persecution. What are required are better non-association andparole conditions. This would essentially ensure that an individual,so defined, couldn’t associate with any gang or gang activity withoutrisking arrest. In order for non-association legislation to be renderedmeaningful, the power of such laws needs to be strengthened.Q: Are Police resources adequate to fight the gang scourgeor do they need more of a boost in terms of specific squadstargeting gangs, as we had in the past?A: Police must take a national focus towards the policing of organisedcrime groups and gangs. It cannot be left to the districts individually.In the same way that the gang is bigger than any individual, so it isthat the national association is bigger and more powerful than anylocal chapter. It is essential that a national group be formed to coordinateoperations and target national crime groups. The impactof the current unco-ordinated policing of crime groups is that iteffectively serves as a culling exercise, which makes those left behindstronger.Q: Are Police chiefs taking the gang problem seriouslyenough?A: Police Chiefs are not taking the gang problem seriously. Theperformance criteria of District Commanders is heavily focusedon the amount of crime. Policing of gangs invariably increases thereported crime, as it uncovers crime that would not otherwise haveappeared in the statistics. This will effectively be a very low returnstatistics wise. Police Chiefs must look at the manner in which theperformance of the districts is measured, to empower them to tacklethe gang/crime problem.Q: What should they be doing?A: The Police Chiefs need to be working with politicians to persuadethem that the politically sensitive nature of the crime statistics,which impacts heavily on current strategy, should be minimisedor eliminated. One means of achieving that would be to report thecrime statistics monthly instead of annually and this would assist indepoliticising the issue.June 2007103
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