TeamEmbo

Lardyl sweet, don't think it's that no-one gets your point; we're all aware of the crime, boy racers, gangs etc., but it just isn't as 'in your face' as it's being made out to be on this thread. Least not where I am anyway. Nor for that matter any of the places we've been when on our recce or that we've visited since we've been here. So it's not really 'head in sand' mentality, it's just we're not affected by it.

lardyl

ah but when one poster (who simply ignored it or decided to take it as support) slates another for "exaggeration" and enjoying "painting a distorted picture" and then totally exagerates *their* point then perhaps they should be told and the rest of the people who look at this thread should be informed that *far* more than 0.01% of NZ's population is affected by gang activity.

I'd wager that more than 0.01% of our population are directly involved in detecting, investigating and dealing with the crime perpetrated by gang members - never mind the numbers dealing with it "directly" as victims of crime.

As Luvwelly says these people are not like the vast majority of Hells Angels in the UK. They are more like copies of the US street gangs - a whole different "kettle of hoki".

southerner

I think it might be useful to distinguish the different types of gangs in NZ.

There are the old gangs such as Black Power and Mongrel Mob who typically have an extremely low profile, and are effectively an underworld whose main activity is organised crime such as drugs. They may or may not be biker gangs. If I was to compare them to something in the Uk it would probably be the yardies, but they have in recent decades been less violent and obvious than the yardies when sorting out their differences. Burning down each gang's house in Invercargill seems pretty trivial in the scheme of things.

Then there are the street gangs mainly in South Auckland, but also in the other main cities who are just like youth gangs all over the world.Their criminal activity probably tends to be a bit more random and opportunistic (although they may be drug distributors too). Over time the risk is that these guys (and girls) feed into the older style gangs, and another one or more generations is wasted.

I would like to say in my 30 years living in NZ I have only noticed gangs 2-3 times, and each time was when they were out for a ride causing no harm. I have not seen hide nor hair of them in the last 5 years in Dunedin. The only issue I have ever heard of (apart from what is in the media) is that an acquaintance who is into motorbikes says that in Invercargill you wouldn't want to show your Harley off as it might just be 'confiscated'.

lardyl

So did anyone catch the news today?

Suppose a couple of thousand people in a protest led by local politicians against gang-related home invasions and other criminal acts are exagerating the problem too ???

Of course they could be an isolated incident overplayed by the media but listening to the people involved and hearing that Mongrel Mob members marched along in support (without their patches) seems that this was pretty serious.

Southerner you must admit though that more than 0.01% of the population are affected by gangs, even in Dunedin??

In my 40 years living in the UK I never witnessed or heard of such a protest although I know people did organise protests against the use of guns, but not against gangs per se........never did I come accross gang activity although I spent 10 years investigating fires full time and I could have missed some gang-related activity amongst all the other organised crime and arson stuff......

southerner

Thats about 12 people - yep, there will be that many people affected by gangs. I never disputed that.

lisamnz

lardyl, are you in the UK at the moment or in NZ?
Because if you were in London, you would be counting your blessings that there's only a couple of thousand people protesting.
The situation here in London with gang fighting particularly knife attacks and random shootings is getting worse by the day. Maybe reading some of the media reports here in the UK will give you a bit of a different perspective on how bad things are (or not) in NZ.
I used to live in Auckland just down the road from one of the main mongrel mob headquarters but you'd not have known they were there unless you were told.
Either way, I was going to say to southerner - I thought that the traditional gangs (black power & mongrol mob etc) never used to be involved in drugs, and it's a fairly recent thing for them to be making & selling & running the drug markets?

jhorsfield30

Hmm, I was considering a NZ working holiday in the next year, as an experience and going to CHC as a start, these threads are eye-opening..

lardyl

no I'm up on the Hibiscus Coast where there is a bit of tagging, some odd gang-related stories in the local papers but not much else that is out there in the open - the odd house you notice could be a gang one even here - reminds me of the Hells Angel's one in Wolverhampton that I used to drive past quite often.

We've been away from the UK for 18 months, suppose I was molly-coddled in the UK.........but then the media in both countries are in the business of making stories "news worthy" so maybe there is a bit of both UK and NZ media over-blowing the true problems.

I think the point I'd make is quite commonly highlighted on here - dont come to NZ to "escape" from all your problems or peceived problems, what you will find is they are at a different level and on a different scale and sometimes these issues take a few years to catch on in NZ.

I lived in London for four years back in the late 80s and although you heard about crime and gangs and stuff even then it had very little impact on me personally - which I suppose goes to show that all of this is based on personal perceptions of risk, our individual experiences and what streets we live/work/move on. However, I still stick by the point that far more than 0.01% of NZers are affected by gangs..........

lardyl

come on down, the place is great and we are just arguing over semantics.....well I am ........

seriously, NZ is the ideal spot for a working holiday, if you do that and get your planning right you'll never see any of these issues and you'll not have to work in the real Kiwi job/career market, which to me is the only real downside - other than the obvious geographic one(s).......

NakiMan

Please, Please dont be put off NZ by what you read in these threads or in the newspapers for that matter.

We live not far from Wanganui, suposidly one of the worst gang infested towns in the country. We go into town 2 or 3 times a week and have never felt threatened or seen any sign of gang activity.

It really isnt as bad as some people would have you belive.

New Zealand is a beautiful, friendly country. Sure, it has some problems, what country doesn't but I for one am pleased to call it my adopted home, and have never regretted moving here.

Littletoe

I tried my best to stay out of this thread because this subject has been done a zillion times before, there should be an auto response to questions like this with threads of all the zillions opinions over and over. Most of them are a lot more considered and intelligent than this thread as well. The fact that people are deciding whether to live in NZ or not based on this current fad of gangs in NZ is absolutely hilarious. If you base your decision on the current trend of the media, than its easy, stay at home, put some sun loungers in your backyard and start browsing package holidays to the Costa del Sol or some other Spanish coast, where you get your chips and hang around with other Brits, slagging off the Spanish. This ignorant mentality of crime not affecting this supposed Utopia never ceases to amaze me. Yes, there are big scary gangs. They're bored, the welfare state doesn't dosh out cash like it does in the UK, so people seek to find other ways to make money. They make drugs. They form underworld communities. Yes, if you get into a slanging match with a guy wearing red, you're likely to find your house burnt down. The reality is if you leave them alone, you'll be left alone. This issue of reporting child abuse is hard to imagine unless you were there. People are afraid for their own families safety, so at least they helped with things they needed. But this attitude of not taking responsibility for these kids wellbeing is happening all the time. In the UK people are beaten to death as others walk by.

A decision to move to NZ should be based on a whole lot of other important factors, such as employment, housing, and healthcare. There is a total split down the middle as to whether these things are very good or not. If you want objective advice, use the internet to search these things out. Health and education reviews, employment sites, real estate sites, etc. Make an informed decision.

Littletoe

Anyway, on a lighter note. Gang members are usually from a lower socioeconomic background. Poorly educated and poorly spoken, badly dressed. Still in a stage of dragging their knuckles along the ground when they walk. You won't know whether you're speaking to a gang member or just a typical Kiwi

Yummy_Mummy

Haha Oh well - And NZ have the same average IQ as the UK.... Hmmmm suppose it figures then eh?

xx

Genesis

[

It really isnt as bad as some people would have you belive.

New Zealand is a beautiful, friendly country. Sure, it has some problems, what country doesn't but I for one am pleased to call it my adopted home, and have never regretted moving here. [/QUOTE]

I am close by in Palmerston North, yet another crime, drug infested, boring, dull 'wouldn't ever wanna live there place let alone visit'......YET for 3 years me and my very young children have never been so content, never been victims of crime, never seen any gang stuff, never been offered drugs and never had soooooooooooooo much to do in my entire life.

So don't believe all what you hear, you need to live it to know it. John Cleese spent a great deal of energy running my home town down. Whar does he know after an 18 hour visit? Apart from that apparently the audience did not favour his performance?

Know it well and love it, NZ and even with its multitude of problems there's no where else on earth I would rather have as a full time home. NZ is bloody marvellous!!!!

nomadicmike

From another forum on this site but relevant...!!!