Street gangs will be treated similar to Outlaw Motor Cycle Gangs under tough new measures the Government is consulting on.
The proposed new laws the Government is consulting on would give police greater powers to tackle street gangs in South Australia, with a key element allowing authorities to deal with street gangs in a similar way to Outlaw Motor Cycle Gangs.
In addition, the proposed changes would:
- Allow for identified criminal groups to be declared as street gangs by regulation;
- Give the Commissioner of Police the power to apply to the court for control orders, to restrict the activities of street gang participants;
- Create a new offence for people to recruit members to a street gang;
- Ensure courts can impose conditions on street gang participants, preventing them from possessing certain weapons, associating with certain individuals or attending certain locations.
These proposed laws have been developed as part of the Government's recently released Young Offender Plan.
The measures come on the back of the Government's $395 million investment in law and order in the 2025-26 State Budget. This includes $172 million over six years to increase the number of sworn officers and $9.4 million over four years to increase support for the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions.
The measures will add to the extensive crime crack-down already being undertaken by the State Government, which includes:
- Introducing new 'posting and boasting' laws, targeting criminal activities being filmed and shared online.
- Passing the toughest penalties in the nation for criminal ringleaders who seek to recruit children to commit crimes, which will see offenders face up to 15 years in jail.
- Introducing the toughest knife laws in the nation, including expanding police powers to conduct wanding searches in declared shopping centres and on public transport, as well as the creation of two new offences for supplying knives to minors.
As put by Kyam Maher
These reforms are all about cracking down on street gangs by giving police greater powers, similar to what they have for Outlaw Motor Cycle Gangs, to keep the South Australian community safe.
These proposed new laws have been developed in close consultation with SAPOL and are designed to give them appropriate legislative tools to tackle these criminal groups.
This Government is continuing to deliver on policies that are tough on crime, protect the community and support our law enforcement agencies.
This comes on the back of this year's State Budget investment that will help our law enforcement agencies in bringing offenders to account, and securing justice for victims of crime.
