A guest post by David Garrett:
I have long detested gangs, particularly the “ethnic” gangs – not because their membership is largely Maori and PI, but because by and large they are the most vicious, and have no hesitation attacking members of the public going about their lawful business.
I am prompted to write this piece by the awful story published on Stuff recently. It was headed Mongrel Mob prospect laughed as he stomped man to death. The victim was a young teacher – who looks as if he was Maori – walking home with friends after a night out celebrating his sister’s birthday. The attack – on both the victim and a female member of their party – resulted in the death of Darcy Strickland, and the woman being kicked unconscious. When some members of the public approached, Alizaye Todd asked for a knife so he could “finish it”, clearly meaning he wished to ensure the victim was dead. Given the facts, he had little choice but to plead guilty if he wishes to escape what in New Zealand are laughingly described as a “long” minimum non parole periods.
Gangs have been a blight on our society since at least the early 70’s, with their behavior getting worse and worse as our hopelessly criminal centred justice system fails to punlish murders such as described above with very lengthy non parole periods (NPP’s) such as in Australia or the UK. In both of those countries, 30 year plus NPP’s are routine, and “whole of life tariff” or LWOP sentences for murder are not uncommon. (Other than Tarrant, the longest NPP in New Zealand is 30 years – reduced on appeal from the original 33 – imposed on William Dwane Bell, for a triple murder at the Panmure RSA in 2001).
Since the 1972 Labour government, successive governments have pledged to crack down on gangs – back then it was “we’ll take the bikes off the bikies” – but in my view there has never been a serious attempt to drastically curtail their barbarous behavior let alone eliminate them. I believe that time is long overdue. That said, I believe some gangs are very much worse than others in terms of their danger to the public, so first a little history.
Gangs can – very roughly – be classified as the “outlaw motorcycle gangs” and the “ethnic” gangs, chiefly the Mongrel Mob (Mob) and their sworn enemies, Black Power (BP). The ethnic gangs are no less “outlaws” that their brethren who get around on over-powered motorbikes The most prominent and earliest outlaw motorcycle gang in New Zealand is the Hells Angels, set up in 1961, and reported to be the first “chapter” of the gang outside the US. Very little is heard these days about “the Angels”, chiefly because they realise that bashing, killing and raping people is very bad for their other criminal enterprises, chiefly drug distribution, “chopping” stolen vehicles, and prostitution.
The Angels were formed in the US in 1948, their first members mostly being returned servicemen who liked to ride large motorbikes and “raise a little hell”. The origin of the “1%” on their patch is a declaration by a “respectable” organization of bike riders in the US stating that only 1% of motorcyclists were thugs looking to cause trouble. The outlaw motorcycle gangs seized upon that “distinction” and some still proudly proclaim it.
During the 1960’s and 70’s, various outlaw motorcycle gangs were formed throughout the country in cities large and small. Some were shortlived, some survive and have thrived, such as the Head Hunters. The Head Hunters “patched over” the Wellington based Sinn Fein MC in 2011, the Satan’s Slaves MC in 2014 and the Epitaph Riders from Christchurch. The Satan’s Slaves gang had been formed in Wellington in 1969.
To be clear, ALL outlaw gangs – including those who purport to simply be “motorcycle clubs” are engaged in criminal activity to a greater or lesser extent. In 2000 a policeman said this of the Headhunters (aka the “88’s” because H is the eight letter of the alphabet):
“The Head Hunters Motorcycle Club is considered one of the most dangerous organised criminal operations in the country. It controls the West Auckland crime scene… …They are responsible for the manufacture, sale and distribution of Class A, B and C controlled substances, with deals taking place throughout the country…
Detective Sergeant Turley also held the gang responsible for “murders, serious assaults and suspicious disappearances” as well as “extortions, home invasions and robberies”. Although the police almost never make a distinction, the outlaw motorcycle clubs almost exclusively prey on their own kind – a man or woman with no connection to any outlaw motorcycle gang is most unlikely to be targeted by any of those gangs
So to what I call the “scum gangs”, primarily the Mob and Black Power. Although like their motorcycle riding fellows they are outlaws – and proud of it – ordinary people such as the murdered teacher referred to above are much more likely to fall victim to them, usually for little or no reason – other that earn a patch, as was the case in the unlucky Darcy Strickland’s case. As an aside, it would be most interesting to learn – perhaps someone could ask the female PR spokeswoman for the Mob – whether Mr Strickland’s murderer has now been or will be “patched” after his brutal and cowardly crime.
The Mob was formed in the mid sixties. Their name purportedly arose from a sentencing of a group of thugs in Hastings in 1965, when a Magistrate noted that the defendants before him had “acted like a pack of mongrels”. As with the “1%” referred to above, this label was seized upon by the Mob, and now “Mongrelism” – or acting in every way totally alien to civilized society – is an integral part of the life of every Mob member. A member or prospect who didn’t display “Mongrelism” at every opportunity would not remain a prospect or member for long.
In my opinion, no-one should be fooled by claims such as those by one Sonny Fatupatu of the “Kingdom” chapter of the gang that they are fundamentally different from other chapters, and operate much more like the “alternative form of whanau” as claimed by some useful idiots as Tariana Turia, and various academic apologists for gangs such as Jarrod Gilbert, a Christchurch academic who holds himself to be an “expert” on gangs and their behaviour. In short, such actions as giving school lunches to deprived children – with gullible media in attendance – are no different from the soup kitchens maintained by Al Capone and his gang in the 1930’s, viz. whitewashing to disguise what the gangs are really about. Only the gullible and naïve should be fooled.
So what can be done, and what new laws do we need to come down hard on all gangs, but the scum gangs in particular? The answer is we can do quite a lot without any new laws. A number of laws already exist which the police don’t bother to enforce. Police may search premises without warrant on a number of grounds, including looking for drugs and weapons. Police may “turn over” anyone on the street – i.e. check vehicles and the passengers within them to determine whether vehicles are registered and warranted, and whether the passengers have any outstanding warrants.
And here in step “human [criminal] rights lawyers” eager to ensure that their odious clients are not unduly bothered. I cannot name the lawyers I refer to for fear of a defamation suit against our esteemed host – I myself own nothing so am not worth suing – but they are names which pop up regularly in the MSM. Suffice it to say they seem far more concerned about the “rights” of their scum clients than those upon whom they prey with devastating effect.
Regular turnovers work: a couple of years ago some Mob member whined to the media in a small town in Hawkes Bay that the police were “picking on us”. This undoubtedly arose from some old style local police chief ignoring the instructions emanating from “bullshit castle” in Wellington, and rather than “policing by consent”, giving regular attention to known criminals and their associates, including gang members.
There should be no police escorts of fleets of overly loud motorcycles having traffic stopped for them so 200 bikies can proceed in an uninterrupted stream, disregarding traffic lights and signs so they can all stay in one group when proceeding from the site of a funeral of some gang member to the cemetery. Rather there should be a large police presence ready to pounce on any misdemeanour large or small. In short, with the laws we already have, police can quite easily make every single gang member in the country aware that the patch on his back is catnip to the police, who are just waiting for an excuse – or an opportunity to manufacture one – to turn them over, perhaps for the third or fourth time that day.
Local authorities can assist by passing strict bylaws governing “gang pads” in their areas, and growing the balls to rigorously enforce building codes – even if they need to obtain the assistance of police to do so. In short, much can be done with laws which already exist, but some gang-specific legislation would certainly be useful – but only in a deliberate political decision is made to make gang members’ lives a misery.
Part Two – New laws to tackle gangs?
