New law and order funding: Extra police with focus on gangs, gun crime

The government has announced a raft of law and order measures that it says will increase police members, address gang violence and extend successful rehabilitation programmes.

 

Faafoi said recent years have seen increases in gun crime, gang activity and some forms of youth offending which puts communities at risk and must be addressed.

 

Our response needs to address the root causes of crime, especially when it relates to young people, provide more rehabilitation to reduce reoffending, and actively pursue and prosecute those who participate in illegal gang activity.

 

Our first priority is increasing the number of police on the frontline. Once we achieve our goal of an extra 1800 police officers later this year we will ensure numbers don't fall away again by maintaining an ongoing ratio of one police officer to every 480 New Zealanders.