South Auckland communities are calling for an increased police presence to deal with gang crime after a spike in gang-related shootings.
In the last year, there have been more than a dozen gang-related shootings or murders in South Auckland, leaving the community on edge.
"I'm not going to sugar coat this. Obviously there has been a lot more things happening in a very short amount of time than usual. But the issues have always been there," community worker Swanie Nelson told 1 NEWS.
The latest, the shooting of Killer Beez gang president Josh Masters at a Harley-Davidson store last Friday, has triggered fears of a cross-gang war.
So Auckland Mayor Phil Goff and local board members have met with South Auckland police bosses, urging them and Police Minister Stuart Nash to bolster the fight against gangs.
"That resource needs to be there urgently. And that focus on cracking down on organised criminal activity through gangs and drug dealing needs to be lifted even more than what we're seeing at the moment," Mr Goff said.
They say South Auckland communities have been left vulnerable by police resources being stretched after the Christchurch terrorist attack.
"Anybody can see that. But that should not be used as a reason to stop what's happening right now," Mr Goff said.
Ms Nelson said: "We had what happened, the terrible tragedy in Christchurch. So that left us severely under-resourced that last few months with our police."
In a statement, Counties Manukau Police admitted the Christchurch terrorist attack has "tested" their resources.
The police insisted though that they are dealing with the recent gang tension and have cooperation from neighbouring police districts to ensure they can deal with all the issues.
The Government promised more police on the beat and a greater focus on organised crime, the Police Minister saying 137 new officers will soon be deployed to Counties Manukau.
But that won't happen immediately.
"Look, we're training them as fast as we possibly can," Mr Nash said.
So while the South Auckland community waits for more support, community worker Swanie Nelson says they're trying to turn a lot of negatives into positives again.
"There are so many more positives that come out of this community than these events that have happened of late," Ms Swanie said.
The community hopes to meet police and council again by the end of the month.
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