Police are seeing "encouraging results" four weeks into their latest crackdown on gangs, an officer leading the effort says.
Detective Inspector Dave Lynch heads Operation Cobalt, which aimed to disrupt unlawful gang activity and monitor gang members in tangi and motorcycle convoys nationwide.
It comes as our latest poll shows most kiwis don't feel the Government is doing enough about gangs. (Source: 1News)
In the past month, Lynch said Operation Cobalt had carried out more than 130 search warrants, arrested 1700 gang members or associates on a variety of charges, seized 53 firearms, and issued about 5500 traffic offence notices to people with gang connections.
"We're four weeks into Operation Cobalt now. We have seen some encouraging results already."
Among the latest arrests as part of the operation are a 37-year-old patched Mongol gang member and a 21-year-old man with Nomad gang links.
Operation Cobalt emerged out of rising tensions between the Killer Beez and Tribesmen, which led to a spate of shootings in Auckland earlier this year.
The high-profile nature of the incidents appeared to impact the public's perception of how gangs were being managed. A recent 1News Kantar poll, which surveyed about 1000 eligible voters between July 30 and August 3, suggested that 70% believed the Government was not doing enough to deal with gangs in Aotearoa.
There was 14% who thought the Government was doing enough to deal with gangs and 16% who either did not know or refused to answer.
Police Commissioner Andrew Coster said Operation Cobalt was an "extension and broadening" of Operation Tauwhiro, which only concentrated on getting unlawfully-held firearms out of the hands of gangs.
Lynch said the difference between the two operations was that Operation Cobalt had 190 officers across the country dedicated primarily to it - far more than Operation Tauwhiro.
He acknowledged there had been "an increase in gang members, particularly over the past couple of years".
However, it was difficult to pinpoint at any given time how many were in gangs because people were leaving and joining, he said.
The situation in Auckland was also very different to other parts of the country, Lynch added.
He said two to three groups - influenced by tougher and better-connected '501 deportees' from Australia - had been largely dominating the gang scene in the past three to four years in the city.
"What's happened in Tamaki Makaurau is there's been competition, essentially, for a market share. When there is competition in a gang environment, that invariably creates gang tension and gang conflict. That's what we've seen playing out."
Lynch hoped Operation Cobalt would send a clear message to gangs that police were taking action.
As for whether the Government had given police adequate resources to achieve that, a diplomatic Lynch said: "We are appreciative of the tools and resources we do have and we'll do our best to make sure we use what we do have responsibly and maximise what we can do to prevent and suppress unlawful gang behaviour."
As part of Budget 2022, the Government had allocated $600 million over the coming years to increase police numbers, tackle gang violence, and extend rehabilitation programmes.
Between July 30 and August 3, 2022, 1023 eligible voters were polled by mobile phone (504) and online, using online panels (519). The maximum sampling error is approximately ±3.1%-points at the 95% confidence level. The data has been weighted to align with Stats NZ population counts for age, gender, region, education level and ethnic identification. The sample for mobile phones is selected by random dialling using probability sampling, and the online sample is collected using an online panel.
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