The Police Association today urged the Government to follow the lead of Australian states in outlawing gangs.
"We don't like coming second to Australia in anything, but if there was a Bledisloe Cup for anti-gang laws, they would clean up," association president Greg O'Connor said.
Prime Minister Helen Clark today said New Zealand would consider banning gangs if a new law doing so in South Australia proved successful.
Mr O'Connor said law enforcers throughout Australia were aided by world-leading anti-gang legislation.
"Western Australia passed world leading asset seizure laws in 2000. Since 2002, New South Wales has had effective legislation for tackling public intimidation by banning offenders from public areas," he said.
He said there was no "sliver bullet" for gangs but laws such as those introduced in South Australia would put pressure on gangs and make their lives "less comfortable and less attractive".
"New Zealand law enforcement is dragging the chain. Gangs have raced ahead on the back of the `P' trade, becoming true organised crime syndicates, and we have yet to even see effective asset seizure legislation passed."
Under South Australia's new law:
* a gang can be designated illegal on the advice of police;
* control orders can then be made against individual members making it illegal for them to associate with other members;
* police can ban gangs from public places or events through control orders.
Miss Clark said today there was not yet conclusive evidence demonstrating the benefit of banning gangs, with many fearing it would merely drive them further underground.
She said the Government would be keeping a close eye on the law's impact in South Australia.
New Zealand First law and order spokesman Ron Mark said his party would be tabling a bill next Tuesday which called for the banning of gangs.
He said both the National and Labour parties had been talking about getting tough on gangs but neither had taken much action since the 1970s.
