Police have welcomed the announcement today that an Organised Crime Agency (OCA) is to be established.
Deputy Commissioner: Operations Rob Pope said the agency will give Police and other agencies increased capability to suppress organised crime in New Zealand and around the Pacific.
"The creation of a centralised Organised Crime Agency will allow better targeting of organised crime and criminal gangs by police and other agencies, operating at local, national and international level.
"We also welcome the policy change which brings the expertise of the Serious Fraud Office to focus on organised crime and a wider range of investigations.
"Police use a range of strategies to actively target gangs and other avenues of organised crime. These will continue, but the development of the OCA will see a more strategic approach - one we must take if we are to match the evolution of organised crime in the 21st century." Mr Pope said.
"This is not a quick fix answer, and it will require a significant amount of planning and work to put in place. However, I am confident that this is the right direction to be going in and I am committed, along with my staff, to seeing as smooth a transition as possible to the new structure.
"I look forward to working with our counterparts in setting up the OCA and assisting with one its first tasks - an organised crime strategy to provide a coordinated, whole of government response to organised crime and the activities of criminal gangs," said Mr Pope.
ENDS
For more information
Jane Archibald
04 474 9442