Roman Travers: Finally, there is good news

Early Edition on Newstalk ZB

If you feel as though you’ve been living in some kind of whack job, futuristic Netflix series when it comes to this country’s deplorable attitude to crime and our increasingly farcical judicial system you were probably suitably blown away by yesterday’s announcement by Police Commissioner Andrew Coster.

Finally, there is good news. Finally, there’s hope that we’ll get to re-establish more than a modicum of control over the growing numbers of gangs and gang members.

Police are establishing a national gang unit, supported by 'district gang disruption teams', to target crime, harm, and intimidation caused by patched gang members. All I can say is it’s about time.

It’s about time that someone took this feral issue by the nostrils and led it out and beyond the growing levels of complacency and the general acceptance we’ve been conditioned and subjected to – for far too long.

The all-new police national team, will work with police districts across the country, drawing on joint operations to gang funerals and other acts of general criminal nuisance and stupidity. Hopefully this will also mean that the police aren’t lagging behind in gang related intelligence.

What we’ve seen in the past have been poorly funded strategies that the gangs know are flawed from the outset, allowing them to keep their criminal wheels turning, or spinning and burning out as is more often the case.

The Police Commissioner, Andrew Coster says there’ll be 25 to 30 staff forming the new national unit while the smaller district teams will be about seven officers.

Andrew Coster also believes there’ll be a reduction in gang numbers, once they get the units up and running and get the tools the government was providing through brand new legislation.

Not only have we seen this huge change in political direction, the general law-abiding public has been demanding big change like this for a very long time.

It’s utterly inconceivable that we haven’t made this move until now, and it’s a complete blight on all previous politicians who failed to let things get to this stage.

There are 9000 pathed gang members in New Zealand today; the same numbers as the population of Queenstown.

Here’s hoping those gang member numbers head to zero at speed before we get another change of government who do a U turn on this overdue policy. Congratulations Andew Coster and Police Minister Mark Mitchell.

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