Gang members in Wellington have almost doubled since 2016

Police records show that the number of gang members and potential gang members in the Wellington region has nearly doubled since 2016.

The information, obtained by the Herald through a request from the Official Information Act, has revealed that as of October there were 827 people in the Wellington Police District on the National Gang List (NGL), which records potential members and patched.

This has increased from 449 in October 2016.

In addition to this, crimes in which a gang member has been identified as a criminal have increased dramatically from 495 in 2016 to 812 in 2020.

In a statement, Wellington District Commander Superintendent Corrie Parnell said that gang affiliation is increasing overall in New Zealand, and that this is not a Wellington-specific problem.

“The reasons for this are many and varied, and include socioeconomic factors, health and education problems, pressure from others, and drugs.

“What we are seeing is that gang membership across the country continues to increase, but at the same time seizures and asset forfeitures continue to increase as well.”

The Director of Criminal Justice at the University of Canterbury, Dr. Jarrod Gilbert, told the Herald that we cannot trust this data to be 100% accurate.

“This data is the same as the general gang data and that has some very specific methodological problems and that is that it is easy to get on the list and very difficult to get out.”

He said what this shows is a general indication of growth, but exactly the numbers we don’t know about.

“Gangs, somewhere, have suddenly come back into fashion, they come from a very low base.”

Relatively quickly, Gilbert said that we have seen this change, something that he said was as simple and complicated as changes in fashion.

“The gang scene is much more complex than we’ve ever given it credit for, but more so now than at any other time in our history. On the one hand, we have groups that are organized crime groups of drug traffickers and then on the other hand We have other groups that are genuinely trying to improve the lives of their members. “

The Wellington Police District covers the southern part of the North Island with its northern border stretching from Peka Peka in Kapiti, through the Hutt Valley and over the Tararua Ranges to Wairarapa.

It also includes the Chatham Islands.

Echoing a sentiment similar to Gilbert’s, Parnell said that because gang membership is fluid by nature, it can be difficult to quantify and the information saved is only as good as the day it was collected.

“In saying that, the increases in the Wellington district are due to stronger registration methods to validate gang membership, resulting in the formal identification of previously unconfirmed gang members.”

Various gangs are established in the Wellington region, including King Cobras, Rebels MC, Black Power, Head Hunters MC, and Mongrel Mob.

Late last year, the Herald revealed that Aotearoa’s gang scene had exploded with new faces and rapid growth.

Data obtained by the Herald found for the first time that there were more than 7,000 gang members, a 50 percent increase in just three years.

However, Gilbert said that the gangs weren’t all the same and that there were chapters across the country trying to break the mold and that groups that are moving in that more social direction are not going to require the same response.

“When we talk about organized crime, we must talk about organized crime, not gangs, because there are a number of gang members who are not involved in organized crime and there are a lot of people who are involved in organized crime who are not in gangs.”

Gilbert said that gangs are one thing and organized crime is another, and we must distinguish between the two because, although they sometimes intersect, they are not synonymous.

In October, six people were arrested following a four-month investigation into gang-related crimes that culminated in seven search warrants in Wellington and Upper Hutt.

Those involved were charged with various crimes, including receiving stolen property and illegally possessing an imitation firearm.

About 60 policemen were involved in the operation.

Parnell said that gang crime is not a problem police can solve alone and requires a multifaceted approach due to the many factors at play.