Police lays 50,000 charges against gang members

Police Minister Ginny Andersen has today congratulated Police in their efforts to crack down on gangs, after laying 50,000 charges against gang members and their associates through the hugely successful Operation Cobalt.

As at 31 August, Police have:

Laid 50,396 criminal charges against gang members and their associates

Issued 64,524 infringement offence notices

Seized 501 illegal firearms

Executed 1,369 warranted searches and 781 warrantless searches

“I want to congratulate Police in what is a really dedicated effort to crack down on gangs and the harm they cause in our communities,” Ginny Andersen said.

“Illegal gang activities are a scourge on our society and the Government has proven it backs Police to crack down on the proliferation of harm they cause in our communities.

“The vast majority of offending by gang members is serious. Police have laid charges against gang members for the following offences:

Assaults

Intimidation and threats

Family offences

Burglary and theft  

Car conversion

Arms Act offences

Drug offences

“Police put their lives on the line every day to ensure that gang members are held to account for their offending.

“The Government has been giving Police the tools to disrupt gang activity since we came into office, including funding 1800 additional Police officers, with 700 solely focused on tackling organised crime.

“We have also given Police greater powers to go after gang members, including the Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Amendment Bill, which targets gang leaders and facilitators who try to hide their illegally-gained profits through their associates and the Criminal Activity Intervention Legislation Bill, which gives Police greater tools to crack down on gang violence,” Ginny Andersen said.

(With Inputs from New Zealand Government Press Release)