Summary of Underpinning Analysis: Gangs (Identified Gangs) Order 2026

The Gangs Act 2024 (the Act) includes a power that allows the Governor-General to amend the list of identified gangs covered by the legislation, by Order in Council made on the recommendation of the Minister of Police, if the statutory criteria are met.

To be listed as a gang, a group must, under section 32(2) of the Act, meet all the following criteria: 

• have a common name or identifying signs, symbols or representations
• be currently active in New Zealand
• have members or associates who individually or collectively have, within the previous five years committed a category 3 or category 4 offence.¹

The Justice Committee considered the statutory criteria during their examination of the Gangs legislation. Many submitters on the Bill were concerned that the test to be identified as a gang under the Bill was not stringent enough. Following consideration of the submissions the Committee made a number of changes to the test, including a requirement:
•    for serious offending rather than any criminal activity
•    that offending is within the past five years, and 
•    that the group is currently active.  
The Gangs (Identified Gangs) Order 2026 does not amend the statutory criteria. It uses the existing legislative mechanism to add a new group that meets the statutory criteria, the ‘Never Snitch Krew’, to Schedule 2 of the Act.

¹ Category 3: An offence punishable by two years’ imprisonment or more (such as aggravated assault) and excluding the offences listed as Category 4 in Schedule 1 of the Criminal Procedure Act 2011, as defined in section 6(1).
Category 4: An offence listed in Schedule 1 (such as the attempt to murder) of the Criminal Procedure Act 2011, as defined in section 6(1).

The importance of carefully evaluating—

• the issue concerned; and
• the effectiveness of any relevant existing legislation and common law; and
• whether the public interest requires that the issue be addressed; and
• any options (including non-legislative options) that are reasonably available for addressing the issue; and
• who is likely to benefit, and who is likely to suffer a detriment, from the legislation

The Gangs Act enables additional groups to be added to the list of identified gangs in Schedule 2 of the Act, if the statutory criteria are met. The gangs listed in Schedule 2 are subject to the provisions of the Act that:

• prohibit the display of gang insignia in a public place
• enable a dispersal notice to be issued if three or more gang members are gathering in a public place and unreasonably disrupting the activities of other members of the public, and
• enable a non-consorting order to be issued against a specified gang offender to disrupt the capacity of the person to engage in a serious offence.

There are no non-legislative options that would enable members of the Never Snitch Krew to be subject to these provisions.

Public interest has been considered. The Order is intended to reduce the ability of gangs to operate and cause fear, intimidation and disruption to the public and to improve public confidence in law and order.

Police has already effectively implemented the Gangs legislation for over 30 identified gangs. Implementation of the Gangs (Identified Gangs) Order 2026 can be managed within existing systems and baselines.

Police will liaise with the Never Snitch Krew gang leadership in advance of the Order coming into effect to ensure the gang and its supporters are aware that the gang is being added to Schedule 2 of the Gangs Act.

There are benefits and costs to the Gangs legislation. Police has incurred an opportunity cost from enforcing the Gang legislation, as opposed to investigating or taking enforcement action against other offending. The Ministry of Justice and Courts have incurred the costs of additional prosecutions, legal aid and proceedings that arise from charges of an offence. The Ministry of Justice has incurred the cost of collecting fines under the Gangs Act.

The benefits of the Gang legislation are a reduction in the ability of gangs to operate and cause fear and to intimidate and disrupt the public and improved public confidence in law and order.

Adding Never Snitch Krew to the list of identified gangs under the Gangs Act will reduce the ability of this gang to cause fear, intimidation and disruption to the public. It is expected to have minimal additional opportunity costs for Police and minimal costs to the Ministry of Justice and Courts given the Never Snitch Krew gang currently only has 25 validated members.

The Gangs (Identified Gangs) Order will be gazetted and Schedule 2 of the Gangs Act updated. The Gazette Notice and Act are publicly available online.

As noted under 9(k), Police will liaise with the Never Snitch Krew gang leadership in advance of the Order coming into effect to ensure the gang and its supporters are aware of the consequences of being added to Schedule 2 of the Act.

Under the Gangs Act:

• displaying gang insignia in a public place is prohibited
• Police are able to issue dispersal notices to gang members gathering in public, and the courts are able to issue consorting prohibition notices to stop certain gang members from associating.

The provisions of the Gangs legislation were designed to limit rights no more than is reasonably necessary to respond to gang harm and improve public confidence in law and order. The prohibitions on display of gang insignia in public and gathering in public do not unduly diminish gang members from assembling or associating with each other. They can associate in private, wearing gang insignia, and in public, not wearing gang insignia, provided they do not disrupt the activities of other members of the community.

Legislation should not take or severely impair, or authorise the taking or severe impairment of, property without the consent of the owner unless-

• there is a good justification for the taking or severe impairment; and
• fair compensation for the taking or severe impairment is provided to the owner; and
• the compensation is provided, to the extent practicable, by or on behalf of the persons who obtain the benefit of the taking or severe impairment

Under the Gangs Act, if a person pleads guilty to, or is convicted of, displaying gang insignia in a public place, the insignia is forfeited to the Crown. Forfeiture is justified on the basis that it is a direct result of the individual committing an illegal activity (displaying gang insignia in a public place).

In addition, under the Act a court must make a gang insignia prohibition against repeat offenders. If a person with two previous convictions for display of gang insignia in a public place receives a subsequent conviction within five years, they will receive a gang insignia prohibition order. Being subject to an order means that a person cannot possess or control gang insignia and that gang insignia cannot be present at the person’s usual place of residence. The gang insignia prohibition is designed to incentivise compliance with the public display prohibition.

Legislation should impose, or authorise the imposition of, a levy to fund an objective or a function only if the amount of the levy is reasonable in relation to both—

•    the benefits that the class of payers is likely to derive, or the risks attributable to the class, in connection with the objective or function; and
•    the costs of efficiently achieving the objective or providing the function