Power Simon: Gangs and Organised Crime Bill — First Reading 
Power Simon: Gangs and Organised Crime Bill — First Reading 
[Volume:652;Page:1098] 
Hon SIMON POWER (Minister of Justice) 
: 
 I move  
That the Gangs and Organised Crime Bill be now read a first time. 
 At the appropriate time I intend to move that the Gangs and Organised Crime Bill be referred to the Law and Order Committee for consideration and for the committee to report back to allow enactment this year. 
In August 2007 I announced that if National became the next Government it would make gang membership an aggravating factor in sentencing strengthen the law that makes it an offence to be a member of a criminal organisation make it easier for the police to intercept gang communications and strengthen the ability of the police to remove and storm gang fortifications. The then Labour Government then revealed that it had developed a similar bill which dealt with only the first two of those measures. That bill took another 11 months to be introduced in the House. The delay followed in our view an even longer hiatus in the previous Government’s policy to combat gangs that started in 2005 and was broken only it seemed by the drive-by shooting of a Wanganui toddler in May 2007. The lesson is that no Government can afford to get complacent when it comes to gangs. 
The Gangs and Organised Crime Bill which I have brought before the House tonight fulfils the promise National made in 2007 and its first reading today fulfils the Government’s commitment to introduce the bill in its first 100 days. The bill amends section 98A of the Crimes Act 1961 to increase the penalty for participation in an organised criminal group from a maximum of up to 5 years’ imprisonment to a maximum of up to 10 years’ imprisonment. The average prison sentence for this offence between 2004 and 2007 was 2 years. That does not adequately reflect the culpability of those gang leaders who organised serious criminal activity such as methamphetamine manufacturing and distribution without directly offending themselves. 
The other side to this issue is the rate of successful convictions for participation in a criminal organisation under section 98A which has historically been very low. From 2004 to 2007 there were 339 prosecutions but only 19 convictions—a total of 5 percent. There are a number of reasons for this in fairness the first of which is the complexity of this provision. The second reason is the high evidential burden placed on the prosecution to prove the offence. The bill currently in its first reading before the House draws on case law to clarify the evidential requirements under that section which should ease the burden placed on the Crown to prove that an accused participates in an organised criminal group. It is intended to result in more successful prosecutions for participation in an organised criminal group without criminalising mere association—an extremely difficult thing to legislate for. 
 The bill also requires the sentencing judge to take into account any offending that is committed due to involvement with such a group as a specific aggravating factor at sentencing. Combined with a doubling of the penalty under section 98A of the Crimes Act and changes to the legal threshold this amendment to the Sentencing Act should increase the penalties handed down to gangs. 
However this bill is not limited to the punishment of gang members. It also provides the police with tools to apprehend those who commit organised crime. The bill expands in two ways the ability of the police to undertake surveillance of gang communications. The first is by providing specific authority for the police to apply for an interception warrant to investigate the offence of participation in an organised criminal group. That in turn will disrupt organised criminal groups by capturing those who organise or facilitate illegal activity. 
Secondly the bill lowers the general threshold for those offences that can be used as the basis for interception warrants from those attracting at least 10 years in prison to those attracting 7 years in prison or more. This means that the police will be able to obtain interception warrants for a wider range of offences—such as car conversion for example—and it sends a message to gangs that the net on their criminal activities is widening. This should enhance the prospects of successful prosecutions under section 98A of the Crimes Act. 
The bill also provides that a removal order may be sought from a District Court in order to remove intimidating structures such as gang forts. For years fortified gang premises have concealed potential offending. The law currently allows the police or territorial authorities to seek court authorisation to remove these structures under the Local Government Act if they are connected to criminal activity or are intended to cause injury. The previous Government rejected law changes that would make it easier for the police to destroy gang fortifications arguing that the current law “appears sufficiently broad” yet it could not say how many gang forts had been stormed and strangely in 2007 the law was removed as a key operational practice from the police statement of intent. 
This Government argues that gang forts are not only a threat to public safety because they potentially cloak illegal activity but also their very presence is threatening and makes a neighbourhood feel less safe. The Gangs and Organised Crime Bill will therefore give additional powers to have these structures removed if they are intimidating in nature. 
Gang activity is insidious and therefore it requires a comprehensive integrated response. The Gangs and Organised Crime Bill is but part of that response by its providing more effective investigative powers and strengthening penalties. Although this bill is one of the first actions of this Government it will not be our final action on gangs. I am determined that if we have the honour of serving the people for as long as the previous administration did we will not wait until 10 days before the election to announce our sole law and order policy—which was in the previous administration’s case to establish a commission of inquiry on gangs. I commend this bill to the House.