text: New Zealand has had youth and street gangs since the 1950s, according to sociologist Jarrod Gilbert. By the 1970s, established gangs included Black Power, Mongrel Mob, Head Hunters and Barbarian Stormtroopers. Some had friends in high places, with Prime Minister Robert Muldoon partying at a Black Power pad in 1976 and Mayor of Wellington Michael Fowler stumping bail for seven of them after an altercation with the Mongrel Mob. Organised crime gangs such as those that currently dominate in New Zealand mostly date from the 1970s. The Police named the three most prominent "New Zealand gangs" as Black Power, the Mongrel Mob, and the Nomads, as of 2007. Examples of local street gangs in 2007 were the Junior Don Kings (JDK) and Dope Money Sex (DMS) of Auckland.
  'Gangsta' style gangs have been a presence in New Zealand since the early 1990s but individual gangs of this type are typically short lived. New Zealand gangs have generally been heavily influenced by their American counterparts and have remained a significant social problem since 1990. Although Black Power takes its name from the black liberation movement of the same name, in many ways it and similar gangs are much more akin to white American motorcycle gangs such as the Hell's Angels. Since the early 1990s newer gangs have primarily been influenced by African American street gangs such as the Crips and Bloods.