Police have announced a nationally focused operation that will support the enforcement of new legislation targeting gangs which comes into effect next week.
The Gangs Act 2024, passed into law earlier this year, gives police new powers to disrupt and target gang activity from November 21.
The legislation prohibits the display of gang insignia in public and provides police the power to issue dispersal notices on gang members who are believed to be unreasonably disrupting the activities of the public.
It also provides for the making of non-consorting orders, which prohibits association and communication between specified gang offenders for three years.
Assistant Commissioner Paul Basham said the display of gang insignia in public places will not be tolerated.
“When these new laws come into effect police will actively enforce any breaches.”
Basham, who is the national controller for the operation dubbed ‘Nickel’, said police had been engaging with gangs and community representatives about the requirements of the Act.
“Gangs are well aware that once this law comes into effect, they are not allowed to wear a gang patch in public.
“Police staff have spoken to gang leaders and made it clear that anyone breaching the new laws can expect enforcement action.
“If we come across anyone wearing gang insignia in public, we won’t be taking the excuse of ignorance as a defence.”
Those wearing a gang patch in public or displaying a sign or symbol associated with a gang should expect the attention of police “either at the time of the offence or at a time that suits police”, Basham said.
Gang Disruption Units, new dedicated teams helping identify, target and catch priority offenders, would be gathering evidence of criminal behaviour, including breaches of the Gangs Act, he added.
“However, we will continue to prioritise calls for our service.
“This means there may be situations where a breach has occurred, and police aren’t able to attend at the time.
“In these cases, wherever possible we will be gathering available evidence to follow through with enforcement action at a later time.”
He said the message from police was simple: “Parliament has passed a law, it’s our job to enforce the law, and we will be enforcing it.
“If you don’t want to have enforcement attention from police, don’t breach the law.”