Last one for this week - Gangs.

I see a lot of news stories about gangs - drive by shootings (i.e that little girl shot on her sofa a few months back), revenge killings, P-production and in-fighting between rival gangs (I think the mains ones are called Mongrel Mob and Black Power - pls correct me if I'm wrong).

I know there are gang elements across NZ and I was totally unaware of this before we came here. I also didn't realise just how far down in to society it seemed to go - even round here you don't just start talking about the Mongrel Mob or B.Power - people look startled and do that sort of "look around to see who heard you" action.

However, apart from the news it doesn't affect me, or my immediate environment. I'm afraid I don't know enough about the gangs to know their roots etc, often that helps in understanding these groups.

Does the gang culture in NZ affect you and your lives? Does it worry you when you see it on the news or is it so localised as to only affect you if you live in the "wrong" area?