Newshub can reveal police wanted significant new search and seizure powers to make the Government's gang patch crackdown effective.
They include the ability for officers to search the properties and vehicles of anyone suspected of displaying gang insignia for up to seven days.
The powers aren't found in the new legislation and police wouldn't say if they'd still like the Government to pursue them.
It comes as lawyers, the police union, former gangsters and others convened at Parliament on Tuesday to give submissions on the Government's proposal to ban gang patches in public places.
Police Association president Chris Cahill said the changes were "tools adding to the toolbox of police legislation" and, while there were some fishhooks, he was broadly in support.
He was concerned, however, the public may think "police will simply be able to go out, stop a gang member in the street, arrest them and take their patch off".
"That is unrealistic," he said.
Former Black Power member Eugene Ryder said he was worried "if the only tool you've got is a hammer, everything is a nail" and didn't believe the ban would act as a deterrent.
"There was [previously] capital punishment. Even death wasn't deterring people from committing crimes."
There was also discussion about how it could disproportionately affect Māori.
"There is of course baked in systemic racism into police," said Julia Spelman from the Māori Law Society.
Cahill said: "One-hundred percent [Maori] will be more affected because they are more overly represented as gang members."
Newshub can also reveal police told the Government the proposed ban had issues, including there was a risk gang members would simply ignore it.
While there are currently search powers available to officers, in a briefing to the Police Minister after he took office in November, police said they wanted more to make the ban an effective deterrent.
Police said they required "an additional power of search and seizure that relates to all gang paraphernalia (which could be used in a subsequent offence) rather than only paraphernalia which was displayed publicly in non-compliance with the ban".
It was argued that would allow police to gather information at a later point with appropriate planning.
"Police therefore consider that, regardless of whether a charge has been filed or the specific publicly displayed paraphernalia seized, a person suspected of displaying gang insignia in public should be subject to the following activity for a period of seven days following the alleged offending."
The document then lists "searches of their property (owned and occupied) or vehicles (owned and used), as well as more seizure powers.
"Seizure of any and all gang paraphernalia found at or in the property or vehicle regardless of ownership, with no need to prove the gang insignia belongs to the alleged offender. Any insignia found in these places, regardless of ownership, will be subject to seizure."
Police Minister Mark Mitchell told Newshub he was confident the search powers available to officers would allow them to enforce the law.
He was also open to considering "any request that police put forward to me in terms of legislation that helps them enforce the law and make our country a much safer place".
Asked if greater search powers were an overreach, Cahill said: "My gut feeling is that is what the courts would think. While it might make life easier for [the] police and we would probably welcome them, you have to get that balancing act right."
He said more powers were "inviting" but the Bill in its current position was already "challenging some human rights".
Police also suggested in the briefing an alternative of extending the ban to all places to provide a stronger basis for more search powers.
Police wouldn't do an interview on Tuesday and did not specifically answer questions about the proposed powers in a statement. They said they were focused on being able to operationalise the new ban.
