New gang laws proposed in South Australia to restrict gang activity, prevent youth recruitment

New laws have been proposed in South Australia to crackdown on gang activity and prevent youth recruitment.

Transcript

00:00These laws would operate very similar to outlaw motorcycle gang laws, and they would give

00:07police greater powers to disrupt criminal activity involving vulnerable young people.

00:12The laws would allow authorities to declare identified criminal groups as street gangs

00:18and also make it an offence to recruit new members, with anyone caught attempting or

00:22successfully luring someone into a street gang facing up to three years in prison.

00:29Under the proposal, courts would also be able to impose conditions limiting access to weapons,

00:35interaction with other street gang members, as well as attendance at certain locations,

00:40and anyone found breaching one of those control orders would face up to five years in prison.

00:45This proposal is part of the state government's Young Offender Plan, and it's despite South

00:50Australia having the second lowest rate of youth offending in the country.

00:54The state's Attorney General, Kyem Ma, says motorcycle gang laws weren't set up to address

00:59the small number of street gangs here in South Australia, which is why these new laws are needed.

01:05Take a listen.

01:06The street gangs tend to be less structured, more fluid in their membership, which is why

01:11we need specific laws to tackle them.

01:13But once an organisation is declared, the police will have the power for control orders which

01:18can control things like who you associate with.

01:21This proposal has raised some criticism from advocates who believe that early intervention

01:26programs are more effective in addressing youth crime.

01:30And the state's Guardian for Children and Young People, Shona Reid, says she's concerned

01:35this legislation could have unintended consequences.

01:37But, Gemma, the state government is now seeking community consultation, and it does expect these

01:42laws to pass parliament by the end of the year.