We Better Get Real about Organised Crime - Destiny NZ
Destiny New Zealand leader Richard Lewis says the post election Government must get real about organised crime and the
drug trade in New Zealand.
"There is no question that organised crime has a foothold in our nation and that unless our Government gives this
situation urgent priority, that foothold will become a stronghold and we might never recover from it", Lewis said.
A Herald investigation established that the number of police assigned to gang intelligence has shrunk from 40 in the
mid-1990s to just a dozen today while international gangsters develop the $1-billion-a-year illicit drugs trade in New
Zealand. Lewis believes that the drug trade is a major contributor to volume crimes such as burglaries and offences of
disorder and violence.
"I think like many things, our Government has put this situation in the 'too hard basket' and thinks that if they ignore
it, it will go away. As an ex officer I am determined to see our police staffed, resourced and equipped to eradicate
organised crime and the drug trade from our communities", Lewis added.
As well as injecting 1300 more frontline officers, Destiny New Zealand's policy on Organised Crime includes (1) the
launch of a Commission of Enquiry to examine organised crime with a view to establishing a National Strategy to confront
organised crime and the drug trade epidemic head on, (2) Support 'asset seizure' legislation (Proceeds of Crime Bill) to
seize assets from people who have benefited directly or indirectly from crime, and (3) Support longer sentences for
convictions of trafficking methamphetamines and precursors. Destiny New Zealand would also consider additional powers of
search and seizure to target gang activity.
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