www.familyparty.org.nz
Target drugs not patches
Family Party leader Richard Lewis says energy and recourses to ban gang patches would be better spent on the war against
drug dealing. The comment comes in response to a proposed law to ban gang patches in public.
"Banning gang patches will only strengthen the sense of victimisation that unites gang members and creates appeal
towards gang life. Law enforcement energy and resources would be better spent targeting the soft underbelly of gang
life, which is drug dealing," says Mr Lewis.
He says while the idea of banning patches has appeal he believes it will sidetrack police from more effective measures
to minimise gang activity.
"Gangs have outlasted Governments and Police Commissioners. It's naive to think banning their colours will make any
discernable difference to what gangs do. But we do have the means to target the glue that holds gangs together, which is
drug dealing. That's the approach that recently put a big stake in the heart of South Auckland's Killer Beez," says Mr
Lewis.
The Family Party released Law and Order policies in May that focus on boosting police resources to combat gangs by
targeting drug dealing and prostitution.
ENDS