IR-01-25-7261
1 May 2025
Bruce
[FYI request #30202 email]
Tēnā koe Bruce
Request for information
Thank you for your Official Information Act 1982 (OIA) request dated 24 February 2025.
Please accept my apologies for the delay in providing you with this response.
You requested:
I request the number of charges against gang members from November 21,
2023 to February 19, 2024.
I’m hoping to get figures from a year ago that al ow a direct comparison to the
figures released yesterday by the Commissioner. It wasn’t clear from the
reporting yesterday that the figure of 3037 charges were for from existing
statutes, not the Gangs Act 2024
The 3,037 charges identified in
https://www.police.govt.nz/news/release/police-put-
pressure-gangs do not include Gangs Act 2024 charges. The text reads directly:
“Between 21 November 2024 and 19 February 2025, Police filed 337 charges
for insignia breaches and 3037 charges for other offending including serious
violence, drugs, and firearms”
For the period from 21 November 2023 to 19 February 2024, there were 3,752 charges
laid against individuals identified as being ‘Validated Gang Members’. Charges refer to
offences that have resulted in prosecution.
‘Validated Gang Member’ refers to any Validated and Current Patched or Prospect
member belonging to a New Zealand Adult Gang as recorded in Police systems, but is
not comparable to the definition of a Gang Member in the Gangs Act 2024.
Please note that gang information is snapshot data, and some of the identified individuals
may not have been gang members at the time of the charge, and conversely, there may
have been people who were gang members at the time of charging but are no longer
recorded as gang members. In practice this means that the cohort identified as gang
members in April 2025 are used to identify both sets of charges.
Data in this response is drawn from a dynamic operational database and is subject to
change as new information is recorded or updated. The figure provided is current as at
11 April 2025.
Police National Headquarters
180 Molesworth Street. PO Box 3017, Wellington 6140, New Zealand.
Telephone: 04 474 9499. Fax: 04 498 7400. www.police.govt.nz
You have the right to seek an investigation and review by the Ombudsman of this
decision. Information about how to make a complaint is available at
www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or freephone 0800 802 602.
Please note that as part of its commitment to openness and transparency, Police
proactively releases some information and documents that may be of interest to the
public. An anonymised version of this response may be publicly released on the
New Zealand Police website.
Ngā mihi
Zane Kearns
Director Data and Performance Insights (acting)
