5705 (2025). Shanan Halbert to the Minister of Police

5705 (2025). Shanan Halbert to the Minister of Police: Further to his response in Oral Questions on the 18th of February 2025, how many of the 119 hate-motivated incidents of offending against the rainbow community that were reported between 24 September and 30 November 2024 were carried out by organised crime groups such as gangs, if any, and what has he done to stop them from happening again?

Hon Mark Mitchell: I am advised that Police is undertaking a range of activities to support Rainbow Communities and is proactively working with other agencies to play their part in identifying and mitigating risk. Police is also actively engaging with Rainbow event organisers and local community partners across the country to provide advice on how to prepare and respond to threatening and/or criminal behaviour. Police is continuously training staff to better respond to Rainbow Communities and internal networks are being strengthened to better enable sharing of Rainbow expertise. Additionally, the Police Te Raranga programme is enabling staff to better recognise, record, respond to and resolve hate-motivated crime. Police do not record the affiliation of offenders to organised crime groups with the exception of individuals on the National Gang List, however, whether they are acting as members of an organised crime group or on their own cannot be determined. I do not believe it is in the public interest to ask Police to further the collection of this information.