Decolonization of Criminology and Justice

Editorial 6(1)

Juan Marcellus Tauri — Mon, 08 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +1200

A Critique of the New Zealand Government’s Gang Legislation Amendment Bill’s Banning Gang Patches in Public

Harry Tam, Angie Wilkinson, Joanna Wilkinson — Tue, 09 Jul 2024 08:36:50 +1200

This paper provides a summary of the social and economic circumstances that have led to the proliferation of gangs in New Zealand. It also examines New Zealand public policies to manage gang behaviours and the outcomes of these policies, which in the main have contributed to the formation of gangs and their violent behaviours. The paper uses this background information to critique the coalition government’s proposed Gang Legislation Amendment Bill that prohibits the display of gang insignia in public places, creating a new criminal offence, currently before Parliament. We contend that the proposed legislation will do nothing to reduce gang membership as it does not address the causes of gang membership.

The Whakapapa of the ‘Patch’: He Korowai Tēnei

Sonny Fatupaito, Paula Ormsby, Steve Elers — Mon, 08 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +1200

This commentary explores the significance of the gang ‘patch’, particularly within the context of the Mongrel Mob Kingdom in Aotearoa New Zealand, amidst contemporary legislative debates aimed at prohibiting the display of gang insignia. The proposed law has sparked widespread discussion, with critics highlighting potential violations of fundamental rights and unintended consequences. This commentary offers insights into the historical and social underpinnings of the gang patch, tracing its roots back to the systemic marginalisation of Māori and the socio-economic disenfranchisement resulting from urbanisation and colonisation. The article articulates how gangs – offering a sense of belonging, identity, and kinship – emerged as a response to these adversities.

New Zealand’s Coalition Government Gang Policy and the Death of Evidence

Juan Marcellus Tauri — Tue, 09 Jul 2024 08:44:38 +1200

A particular focus of the NZ government in relation to crime control is its stated aim to ‘smash the gangs’, signalled through a range of policies, including banning gang patches and providing police with enhanced dispersal powers. So far, one significant feature of the government's platform is its inability to provide evidence that demonstrates the efficacy of the criminal justice policies and interventions it plans to implement, such as boot camps and banning patches. Government members have also shown themselves immune to evidence of the efficacy of existing policies and interventions it has sought to remove, or that problematises their claims about the likely success of those they want to introduce. It is argued that the government is employing an ideology-based policy process that is driven by political expediency (winning votes) rather than employing an evidence-based approach, which would demonstrate a genuine concern for reducing crime and ‘making us safer’.

Australia’s Regime of Bikie Legislation

Mark Lauchs — Mon, 08 Jul 2024 13:51:34 +1200

no abstract