Paul Basham: Assistant Police Commissioner on the rising gang numbers, charges

As the gang numbers grow police say they're keeping a better check on their behaviour. 

Gang numbers have climbed past 10 thousand, up from 9,270 in 2023.  

Assistant Police Commissioner Paul Basham says since the Gang Act was passed, they've launched more than nine thousand charges against gang members.  

He told Mike Hosking they have a laser focus on gangs.  

Basham says part of the increase could be attributed to police keeping a closer eye on them. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
It looks like the business of gangs is going with

(00:01):
correc ten thousand members. So two years ago it was
two hundred and seventy. As of today it's ten thousand
and nine. Paul Basham's the Police Assistant Commissioner and as
with us, Poor morning, Good morning, Mark Mitchell claims the
increase is slowing. Is he right?

Speaker 2 (00:16):
Well, I think it comes at a time when we've
really never been better in the moment we're operating out
there against gain criminal behavior. Since the gangst came into
in November last year, we've laid nine thousand charges against
people that are validated on the gang list, and two
thousand of those charges have been for violence, was executed

(00:37):
nearly six hundred wants and taken over one hundred firearms
out of there scene. In our prosecution rate against people
that have validated on the gang list sits in the
mid nineties, So you know, we're out there all the
time having an impact on gain criminal behavior. Into some extent,
the gang list provides us with a sort of point

(00:58):
of intelligence about the operating ronment and gives us better accuracy,
and ironically, the increase in the numbers that we're seeing
on the list kind of reflects that we're out there more,
doing more policing against gang members, and as a consequence
of that, we're getting better intelligence about them.

Speaker 1 (01:16):
I'm very I'm very glad you said that, because I
wondered why we're obsessing about the numbers. Aren't we more
interested in what they're actually doing. I mean, if they're
ten thousand and nine of them playing twister with their mates,
that's fine. If they're committing crime, that's a problem. You're
telling us you're on top of the crime.

Speaker 2 (01:32):
Well, yeah, I'd respond in two ways to that. Our
staff wilsome and I don't think we've ever been better.
You know that there's been lots of reporting about the
work with undertaking against gas like the Common Seros. Last month,
we were operating against the Greasy Dogs and totong A.
Two weeks ago we took out a chapter of the
Hell's Angels and tong Andili and that's pretty significant and
pleasing gems because they don't make that easy for us.

(01:53):
And to take out the Hell's Angels from a law
enforcement point of view, is significant and reflects the fact
that our staff are doing awesome work. As I talk
to you now, we've got hundreds of stuff in Auckland
terminating against an organized crime. There's more information in the
less about that later today. And god knows how many
millions of dollars that we've restrained in terms of our

(02:16):
set restraint and seizure over the last year and five years. So,
and we're operating in a way that the government and
the community would want us to be in the way
that we're tackling organized crime and gain criminal behavior. And
I think the second part of way out to that
would be, you know, we have the ambition for our
communities to be safe and feel safe, and I think

(02:36):
the GAIN legislation that dropped last year has had a
significant impact out there in terms of community feelings of safety,
and the feedback that we're getting is very positive in
that regards. So it's met the mark, if you like,
openly whelming and met the mark in terms of the
government's in tension and the way that we're able to
execute it. And we're getting really good feedback in terms

(02:57):
of feelings of community safety as a consequence. But it's
also you know, with the resource that came with it,
that it has given us the opportunity to be more
interactive in the way that we are police thinking criminal
behavior and back to the interest in the ganglist, I
think that kind of reflects the fact that we're out
there more and therefore we've got better accurate.

Speaker 1 (03:16):
Intel, nicely said Paul. Appreciate your time very much, Paul Basham,
who's the police assistant commissioner? You thinking what I'm thinking.
You've never heard a cop in your life more eloquent.
If he's good looking as well, he's.

Speaker 2 (03:29):
The I certainly like the number of the times you
use the word awesome.

Speaker 1 (03:32):
Exactly if he's good looking as well. Here's the New
Zealand Police Forces post a child Mike Mitchell be listening
to that will be in tears.

Speaker 2 (03:40):
For more from the mic Asking Breakfast.

Speaker 1 (03:42):
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