A former police negotiator says tough anti-consorting laws used in Australia could help tackle the rise in gang violence.
It comes after a tit-for-tat gang war between the Tribesmen and Killer Beez gangs, which has seen a number of drive-by shootings at houses over the past few weeks.
National Party police spokesperson Mark Mitchell told NZ Herald the Australian approach "sounds like a good way of trying to dismantle gangs from the inside out".
Queensland introduced anti consorting laws following a fight outside a Gold Coast restaurant in 2013, where it's now against the law for three or more known criminals to meet in public.
The law also banned motorcycle club members from wearing club colours in public, while in Western Australia, facial tattoos can be considered gang insignia.
It comes after another house was shot at in Auckland on Monday night in what is believed to be a gang-related shooting.
Former police negotiator Lance Burdett told AM on Tuesday the anti-consorting laws are working in Australia.
"It works in Australia for sure, rather than go for the drivers of crime and try to get amongst the gangs and help support them, they crack down on them and it works," he told AM co-host Ryan Bridge.
Burdett warned the tough laws are driving gangs underground.
"It drives gangs underground and they no longer wear patches but they're still there, but it's harder to police. So that's the problem Australia is facing," he said.
"They are very, very hard. If you turn up in a town or city patched up, police crackdown on you really, really hard.
"Literally to the point of going through and arresting people for all sorts of things. If you've jaywalked you're fined, they really do hammer them."
Bridge asked Burdett if it was better for gangs to be visible in public or underground.
"For me, it's a gang member you can see and somebody you can sit and chat next to and get alongside and understand why they're doing what they do," he told AM.
"You associate with like-minded people and gangs let's face it, a lot of them are involved with criminal elements, so we've got to crack down on them absolutely."
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was later asked about Mitchell's proposal.
"When we look at what we're experiencing right now, it only takes two gang members to have an issue with a public shooting," she told Bridge.
"Let's actually do what works. We are absolutely concerned about the escalation we've seen and the recent tensions.
"The focus at the moment, for the police, is absolutely on enforcement around the areas where they're seeing those particular tensions and that escalation right now."
Ardern said they are looking at other ways to tackle the rising gang violence.
"When it comes to other laws, we've been looking for some time at whether or not there are other things we should be doing in our legislation to support the police. Here, we take very strongly the guidance from the police [on] what would make a difference for them.
"At the moment, though, firearm prevention orders, gun registers; those are all the things that we're working on as we speak that we know will make a difference."
Watch the full interview with Lance Burdett above.
