Dunedin police yesterday moved to reassure the public they
were closely scrutinising gang activity in the city, and
working to move at least a few gang members out of Pine Hill.
Police spent yesterday focusing on the movements of
individual gang members and vehicles, doing bail checks and
keeping an eye on gang pads.
Two members of the Mongrel Mob and four from Black Power have
been arrested and are on bail, with conditions including
24-hour curfews, after an armed confrontation between the two
gangs in Liberton last Sunday.
Gang activity in the city has heightened in the past week as
the men go through the court system.
Emergency response commander Inspector Alastair Dickie said
police were checking those individuals on a regular basis and
any found breaching bail would be arrested and charged.
Conditions imposed by the court meant only one Black Power
member was to occupy a property on Pine Hill Rd, and that
residence was being closely monitored by police.
The same attention was being given to the Mongrel Mob.
He said police would be watching the movements of individuals
and vehicles and exercising powers under the Crimes Act to do
searches and seize any weapons found. Arrests would be made
if items were located.
No arrests were made yesterday.
Police and property owners were working together to see if a
relocation plan could be worked out to move gangs in the Pine
Hill area away from each other, and to lessen the "gang
profile" in the suburb, he said.
Proactive policing teams and community constables were also
working to reassure the public, with personal visits to those
directly affected by recent incidents, including neighbouring
properties.
Police iwi liaison officers were also communicating with the
gangs to encourage co-operation and further "de-escalate" the
present situation.
"It is important to remember that the shooting incident which
occurred on Sunday was a specific confrontation between the
two groups of people involved.
Members of the public should feel reassured that Dunedin
police are working at several different levels to reduce the
tension between these two groups, and to ensure the safety of
the wider community," Insp Dickie said.
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