The Police Minister is "looking at" powers that would allow officers to disperse gang members from public areas, but won't ban patches.
Chris Hipkins, who took over the police portfolio earlier in June, announced last week that he was in discussions with new Justice Minister Kiri Allan about a package to crack down on gang members. It comes amid an escalation in gang activity, particularly in Auckland, where the Tribesmen and Killer Beez gangs have been feuding.
At a Select Committee appearance on Thursday, the minister said he expected to put legislative proposals before the House fairly soon after Parliament's winter adjournment, which begins next week and lasts for three weeks.
Mark Mitchell, National's police spokesperson, asked Hipkins whether the Government would consider introducing dispersal notices.
"[They] have been very effective in Australia in dispersing gangs when they come together, whether it be for a meeting in a public place, taking over public spaces which we've seen a regular history of them abusing and in some cases assaulting members of the public," Mitchell said.
Hipkins replied that "it's one that I'm looking at".
"I have not ruled it out completely, but I have seen evidence from Australia that it's also being used on groups that were not the intended target of those laws"
"I have no issue with curbing the human rights of people who are engaged in criminal activity because I think if they want to engage in criminal activity, there's a consequence of that.
"But I think as parliamentarians, we all have a responsibility to ensure that when we're passing laws in those areas that potentially infringe on people's rights, that we're targeting the right people and we're not passing laws that could unintended infringe on the rights of people who haven't done anything wrong."
Earlier this month, National criticised the Government over a rise in gang membership and concerns in Auckland about high-profile incidents. It promoted four policies it believes necessary to "respond to the growing gang threat".
That included banning gang patches, something Hipkins confirmed on Thursday would not be part of the Government's response. The idea was criticised when announced, including by gang experts and a former National minister.
Dispersal notices were one of the policies, which National said could be issued to "anyone they reasonably suspect of being a gang member or gang prospect".
"Once issued, gang members would be required to immediately leave a public area and not associate in public with one another for seven days," leader Christopher Luxon said.
Another was Firearms Prohibition Orders (FPOs), which the Government is currently trying to bring in. The legislation, that would introduce the power to stop serious criminal offenders from accessing or being around firearms, is currently before the Justice Select Committee.
Mitchell asked Hipkins on Thursday when FPOs would be progressed, leading to a scrap between the two MPs over how quickly legislation can be moved through the parliamentary process.
The Prime Minister has previously said the Government would support expediting the legislation through the House once it is reported back on by the Select Committee.
Hipkins wouldn't get into whether the Government would consider another National proposal - consorting orders, which would stop gang members from associating or communicating with each other.
"The Minister of Justice and I are looking at a range of issues. I'm not going to get into the game of ruling things in and ruling things out at this point. We'll bring a package forward. It won't have everything in it which has been suggested by everybody. But we'll bring a good package forward that will, I think, really start to give the police some more options."
Earlier in the Select Committee, Hipkins acknowledged there was heightened anxiety around gang activity in Auckland and also expressed some concern about the sharing of footage of youth engaging in crimes, suggesting those youth may be emboldened by their actions getting notoriety.
