8. Question No. 8—PoliceNICOLE McKEE (ACT) to the Minister of PoliceQuestion No. 8—Police8. NICOLE McKEE (ACT) to the Minister of Police: Does she stand by her statement that It is my view that New Zealanders feel safer with a Government on track to deliver 1800 extra police"; if so why when gangs have recruited close to twice as many members in the nearly six years it took to recruit those extra police?Hon GINNY ANDERSEN (Minister of Police): To the first part of the member's question yes in the context it was given. The alternative would be to not have 1800 additional police. To the second part of the question I've always been clear about the challenges that both gangs and organised criminal groups present in our communities but it is exactly the reason why this Government has enacted legislation to crack down on gangs which in the past week in Ōpōtiki saw 26 vehicles seized four firearms seized 11 offensive weapons seized and nine gang members arrested—all of this under new gang conflict warrants that did not exist before April.Nicole McKee: Does she think that New Zealanders feel safer when there is an average of two gang-related firearm offences every day this year to mid-May and does she think that they will feel safer with the implementation of the firearms registry knowing that gang members won't be using it?Hon GINNY ANDERSEN: I would never be so bold as to speak on behalf of all New Zealanders but I will say that this Government is cracking down on organised crime in three main ways. The first main way is through legislation through the Criminal Activity Intervention Legislation Bill through introducing a firearms prohibition orders ability to put those most dangerous individuals away from weapons and also introducing new legislation around those driving and fleeing. By introducing a firearms registry which will go live at the end of this month it will be able to map for the first time where all firearms are in New Zealand. I believe that this is a good way to find out where the guns are and make sure they are out of the hands of those organised criminal groups who are a danger to our community.Nicole McKee: Does she think that New Zealanders feel safer when youth gang membership is up 700 percent over five years to April 2023 and youth gang members have on average 26 offences under their belt by the time they turn 18 years old?Hon GINNY ANDERSEN: I have been clear that the level of youth offending occurring in New Zealand right now is completely unacceptable but it is for that very reason that this Government has introduced and rolled out further programmes like "circuit breaker" and Kotahi te Whakaaro. These programmes show that 72 percent of young people going through those programmes do not go on to offend. I call that success.Nicole McKee: Does she think New Zealanders feel safer when the overwhelming gang presence in Ōpōtiki recently resulted in schools shutting down for the week?Hon GINNY ANDERSEN: I have zero tolerance for the harm and intimidation caused by gangs in our community. The operation in Ōpōtiki where police used new powers under the Criminal Activity Intervention Legislation Act meant that those communities were safe. I was pleased to see that there was not any harm done to individual people and that is a result of those front-line police officers doing their job well and using the new powers that they had access to.Nicole McKee: Did the Mongrel Mob pay for a traffic management plan when it shut down the streets in Ōpōtiki and if not why not?Hon GINNY ANDERSEN: No."