The Gang Hearing at the Royal Commission of Inquiry into state abuse hosted by Hīkoi Nation in Manukau concluded that the Indigenous gangs of Aotearoa are a direct result of the assimilation tactics of colonisation by the state.

Evidence presented at the royal commission of inquiry described a predatory system of Police, Courts and Social workers deliberately targeted Māori/Polynesian children to force 100,000 of them into Boys homes and Orphanages. Many scared and terrified children were offered to tyrants who underwent no scrutiny or screening process. After undergoing decades of abuse these victims natural progression was to join the gangs.

There was a consensus there needs to be an atonement by the state and society for victims of state abuse that joined the gangs. Although many politicians have a punitive mentality of locking them up and scapegoating gangs for political gain.

Speaking to Gang liaison Police officers that attended the inquiry they agreed we need improved Policing that finds solutions with the gangs and keeps the back channels open. Social workers that keep Tamariki within their Hapu, Iwi and Whanau while consistently checking with the child to ask if they feel safe. Therapists and Counsellors that listen to their trauma. Courts that avoid an anti-Māori bias and prioritise restorative justice as opposed to punitive justice.

  Abuse, Aotearoa, Gangs, Royal Commision, State