Kate Hawkesby: No surprise gangs continue to run rife

"They were wild, it was petrifying," those were the words of the woman who witnessed the brutal gang attack on the Waikato expressway on Friday. Police are now investigating after gang members drove erratically on both sides of the road before a man was dragged from his car and attacked. He was left lying on the road, his face covered in blood, his shirt off and his pants half down. People thought he was dead. There was a convoy of gang members on motorbikes. The witness described them as 'very aggressive', they brought traffic to a standstill, she said it was 'terrifying.'She's not the first person to witness gang intimidation on our streets and motorways, nor will she be the last, and that's the problem. Where are the police? And more than just the thin blue line, where is the hard-line on gangs that lets them know this is not how we behave in a civilised society? Why have gangs been handled so softly softly, that they now believe they own the road? Why do they think it's acceptable to carry out their uncivilised brutish behaviour in public in front of law-abiding families?Probably because they've been led to believe they can.They've been emboldened by so many blind eyes being turned, so much leniency, so little law enforcement.And again this is not actually the Police's fault, it's the theory and ideology that sits above them, weighing them down in bureaucracy and fanciful philosophy that if we just hold everyone's hands, they'll see the light. And it's not like we don't know Police are capable of getting into incidents and making a presence felt - we saw it - eventually - at the protest in Wellington.When they want to act, and enforce some rules, they can. So why don't they?Why is it we still have a billowing gang problem in this country that only appears to be getting worse?Why is it being ignored by government politicians?Some regions have been traumatised by the ongoing and unruly presence of gangs for ages now- parts of the Waikato, Bay of Plenty, Hawkes Bay, Taupo, Northland. It's not like Police don't know where the problems are. It's not like the government can't see this stuff unfolding, you don't have to be an expert in law and order to know there are issues and to know where they are.Yet still, nothing happens.So is it a soft on crime problem, or a scared of gangs problem? Or both?Are the gangs just too empowered by a government who wants to trade in kindness and hugs, and hand gangs money?This government seems very keen to mandate rules for its law-abiding citizens and micromanage most of us within an inch of our lives - so why does that approach not seem to apply to gangs?A society that affords gang privilege, is only created by lack of political will to change the status quo.There has to be consequences for actions, but there also has to be a very clear message from the top that this sort of behaviour won't be tolerated.If that's not the case, and if there's no law enforcement to back it up, then it's no surprise gangs continue to run rife.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.