Some gangs are recruiting prospects in such big numbers that they're doing away with the traditional 'initiation' and instead patching them straight away.
Police put the spike in members down to deportees returning from Australia and also the gangs now posting slick marketing videos on social media.
Police have a warning tonight for parents - and it is related to organised crime. There's a good chance if your kids are on TikTok, they have seen gang videos.
From the Mongrel Mob to the Killa Beez and even the Head Hunters - they're on every platform, every day.
To some, these videos will seem like meaningless entertainment, but not to others.
Documents show the Minister of Police is being advised social media is now an effective gang recruiting tool.
"They understand also the reach of social media and the way that can be used, and so they're using it really effectively," says National Organised Crime Group leader Detective Superintendent Greg Williams.
Social media depicts lavish, luxurious, and expensive lives, used to entice newer, younger, gangsters.
"[There's] a lot of bling, a lot of muscle, wearing stylish gear, riding expensive motorbikes. They're really trying to sell the gang lifestyle," Det Supt Williams says.
"The reality is that all of that has been borne off meth dealing and drug dealing in our communities."
Officials say this is part of the reason our gang numbers have been exploding. The biggest increases are in the Bay of Plenty, up 71 percent; the Southern District, 76 percent - and in Tasman, 148 percent. This gives a total of 7000 people now on the National Gang List.
Sociologist Jarrod Gilbert has recognised the increased presence of gangs online - and it's breeding a 'new' type of New Zealand gangster. The new recruits are more middle class and from more diverse backgrounds.
"Nowadays we're seeing people joining gangs from a broader spectrum and that could well be because that it's being portrayed as something it's not," he says.
There are other changes taking place in gang recruitment too. Previously young people were expected to prospect. That's when you carry out jobs or dirty work on behalf of patched members. Police say these days, traditional prospecting is rare.
"You've got to attract people harder faster and smarter, so the apprenticeship component of an apprenticeship is pretty much gone so you're seeing a lot of younger people patched up," Det Supt Williams says.
And tonight, Newshub can also reveal the Police Minister has been alerted to gangs increasing their counter-surveillance tactics - that's when they spy on police.
They're using encrypted communications to avoid phone bugging.
Gilbert says for gangs, it's just common sense.
"Some encryption is absolutely vital. If you're in organised crime then you're absolute mug not to."
Police say they're more determined than ever to crush gangs - and an increase in police numbers helps.
But while gangs go digital and get smarter - it makes that job tougher than ever.
