Word: zealander
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...Zealand Police Sergeant Louis Ott is dealing with the fourth stabbing in an hour. It's a wet Saturday night in south Auckland, and Ott and constable Brent Stevenson are questioning a shivering youth as blood congeals in a gash to his nose. "I fell over," says the boy, blinking in the light of Ott's torch. "C'mon, bro," says Ott. "How would you feel if someone got badly stabbed tonight, and died, by the same people that did this?" The teenager, who is mysteriously wearing a clean shirt turned inside out, admits that the wound, from...
...With its remote location, small population and favorable international reputation, New Zealand is regarded as a pleasant and peaceful place to live. Yet this island nation harbors a small, unique and brutal street-gang culture that has defied authorities for more than 30 years and now appears to be nurturing a new, more violent mutation. Last month, the country's older ethnic gangs were involved in a series of tit-for-tat drive-by shootings that left a toddler dead; meanwhile the country's juvenile gangs have emerged as a new force in crime, linked to eight killings and many...
...Zealand has been home to ethnically based street gangs since the mid 1960s. The two largest-the Mongrel Mob and Black Power-between them boast about 2,600 members, gathered in 145 "chapters" that center on "pads," or clubhouses. Members trace the names to specific incidents. The Mongrel Mob got theirs the day a magistrate described them as a "pack of mongrels." Black Power say their gang was formed in response to a series of rapes committed by the Mongrel Mob. When the attackers demanded, "Who are you to challenge us?" the opposing men called back, "We are Black Power...
...Jhia's killing has reignited debate in New Zealand about whether enough has been done to deal with gangs. The government announced a review of existing laws, while justice officials have been put to work on an organized anti-gang strategy. The New Zealand Police Union has called for a Royal Commission to inquire into the gangs, and recommended a national, rather than divisional, strategy to control them. Police Minister Annette King, however, believes the incident was an anomaly-a death at a time when gangs are becoming less violent. "The killing of innocent people by gangs is very rare...
...Gang veterans say the gangs are aging, with members mellowing as they become parents themselves. Lifetime Black Power member Dennis O'Reilly, who has also worked as a senior bureaucrat for the New Zealand government, says the shooting into a gang member's house was highly unusual, and that attacks on family go against tradition. Claude Kahika, president of the Mongrel Mob's foundation Hastings chapter, admits "sporadic gang violence flares up now and again. But because of the network of older guys, a dialogue and communication is there now." He says he has been negotiating with the gangs...