A Last Minute Amendment to NZ's Gang Legislation Risks Making a Bad Law Worse
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Authors
Gledhill, Kris
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Other Form of Assessable Output
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The Conversation
Description
The government’s new gang legislation – now split into the Gangs Bill and the Sentencing Amendment Bill – is expected to pass its third reading soon. But a last minute amendment, added after public consultation closed, has raised more questions about legislative overreach. Broadly speaking, the legislation will make gang membership an aggravating factor at sentencing, and criminalise the display of gang insignia in public. It also allows the police to order gang members in public to disperse, and to apply for a court order banning communication between members for three years. The recent amendment would prohibit possessing gang insignia in a private setting by issuing gang insignia prohibition orders. While the government has argued the new rules will act as an effective deterrent to gang membership, it is not clear how these laws will stand up to New Zealand’s own Bill of Rights Act.
Keywords
Gangs, Crime, New Zealand, Politics
Source
The Conversation. September 6, 2024. Retrieved from: https://theconversation.com/a-last-minute-amendment-to-nzs-gang-legislation-risks-making-a-bad-law-worse-238070
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