• Police from Auckland have been sent to Kaikohe to help with a crackdown on gangs.
• Community leaders want sustainable police numbers.

A police crackdown on gangs in Northland’s Kaikohe has come at the expense of policing in Auckland, with police sent up to the town from Tamaki Makaurau.

As part of rising gang tensions between the Killer Beez and the Tribesmen in Northland and Auckland, shots were fired throughout Kaikohe in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

Police responded swiftly, making a number of arrests the following day and seizing a firearm, ammunition, and 1.7kg of cannabis.

Police also ran 60 vehicle stops, finding a pistol and methamphetamine in one vehicle.

READ MORE:
* Gangs of Kaikohe: How a small town is fighting back against organised crime
* ‘Real fear’: Inside the violent gang battle for a Far North town
* Northland gang war: Tribesmen and Killer Beez lock horns in Kaikohe, one shot

Far North Area Commander Inspector Justin Rogers said police are working hard to reassure the community, including having a visible presence in town and visiting schools and businesses.

But when asked where the police had originated from, he said police had come from across Northland, as well as Auckland – where there have been more than 20 reported shootings this year.

“We have the ability to move staff right across the district and indeed across the country,” he said.

Police would not divulge how many officers had been moved from Auckland into Kaikohe, nor how long they were expected to stay.

But the move concerns leaders in both Kaikohe and Auckland, who worry there will not be enough police in their area should the gang tensions suddenly rise.

Mane Tahere, a spokesman for Kaikohe hapū collective Te Tiahotanga, said the community understood that tensions go up and down, and police have to respond accordingly.

But the community is concerned about the slow police response time to 111 calls in the mid-north in normal times, such as when the Auckland police leave, he said.

Te Tiahotanga laid a unique rāhui, or customary ban, against gang violence in Kaikohe on Friday.

Auckland councillor for Manurewa-Papakura Daniel Newman said Auckland police were still recovering after being sent to Wellington to help with the anti-mandate protests at Parliament.

While he did not begrudge smaller districts like Kaikohe getting extra police help when needed, he questioned if there were enough police across the country.

“There’s no region in this country that needs a great number of police more than Auckland,” Newman said.

“I don’t begrudge enforcement in Kaikohe and I want people in Northland to be safe, but it does [raise whether] the Government has any realistic grasp of organised crime and firearms-related offending and the resource response that is going to be required – not just in Auckland or Northland but all of the country,” he said.

“It’s not possible for Northland to permanently commandeer police staff out of south Auckland.”

Police minister Poto Williams has been approached for comment.

Meanwhile, Justin Rogers is appealing to members of the Kaikohe community to come forward with information about the recent violence.

“We’re sure that there’s people out there who know those involved. We’re asking them to do the right thing before someone not connected gets hurt.”

Rogers said the gun violence was being treated very seriously by police.

“We have been disgusted by the behaviour that shows a blatant disregard for the safety of the public.”

People are encouraged to report to police on 105, or report anonymously through Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111.