Boxing New Zealand has expressed dismay after police confiscated a 12-year-old boy's boxing club t-shirt on Christmas Day because of a Black Power symbol on it.
However, Police Minister Mark Mitchell said he backed police to enforce the new gang legislation and that they had been "very effective" in doing so.
"Kids shouldn’t be wearing clothes with gang insignia in public," he said on X.
"A boxing club associated with and hosted by the Black Power, an organised crime group, should think long and hard about that."
On Friday, 1News revealed the boy was walking to a friend's house when officers approached him and told the 12-year-old they were allowed to confiscate his t-shirt, which displayed the logo of his boxing gym.
The gym, Kia Kaha Boxing Club, is associated with Black Power as it has operated out of the Black Power Marae in Mt Wellington since 1995. The symbol has been a part of the club since its inception.
Police said the t-shirt was determined to be in breach of section 7 of the Gangs Act, "due to Black Power insignia on the front and both sleeves of the t-shirt", making it a breach of the new law banning gang patches in public.
The decision was made not to prosecute the boy, but have referred him to Youth Aid, police said.
Boxing New Zealand president Steve Hartley told 1News the club's connection to Black Power does not mean the boy was promoting the gang by wearing his shirt.
"The police have to be careful when you're pulling kids like this aside. That kid is going to form an impression for a long time of how he was treated."
Hartley told 1News he believed the 12-year-old was a "decent" kid, and said officers should "give them [kids] a chance to be good people".
"He comes from a gym that Boxing New Zealand has supported in the past. And they've done a lot of community good," he said.
"Police have really got to just pull up a little bit, show a little bit of maturity and think about this... Most of these kids are good kids."
The new law covers those who "knowingly" display gang patches, usually with a gang's name next to the symbol.
Josh Chellatamby, a member of the boxing club and secretary of Counties Manukau Boxing Association, told 1News he believed it was "surprising" that Mitchell "appears to believe that telling children what they can and should wear reflects" principles of individual freedom, personal responsibility and choice.
"This perspective conflicts with the National Party’s stated values of fostering personal choice and empowering individuals to take ownership of their futures. We urge Mr Mitchell to engage in dialogue to better understand our work and its impact."
Government, Opposition respond
Police Minister Mark Mitchell said he backed police to enforce the new gang legislation and that they had been "very effective" in doing so.
Labour's police spokesperson Ginny Anderson said the Government legislation "was designed to prevent intimidation within our community".
"I find it very difficult to believe that a 12-year-old child walking along the street can qualify as being intimidating," she said.
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer told 1News she worried what police would do next.
"They will sadly go out and continue to criminalise and badly profile young people who have absolutely no intention to be wearing gang insignia," she said.
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