Following a review, Police will not stop referring offenders to Destiny’s Church run programmes such as Man Up and Legacy.
This comes after an internal review was conducted after their actions at multiple pride events back in February.
It was revealed that 20 of the offenders were referred to Destiny’s Church Man Up in the last year with Labour MP Phil Twyford concerned that those seeking help were being coaxed into a harmful organisation.
The review was spearheaded by the fact that last month, members of the organisation stormed an event at a library in Te Atatu to protest a Pride event run by a drag king. Which led to a number of assault allegations.
Videos that were posted online show them pushing past community centre staff despite being told it was a private event and that they needed to leave.
In a statement made by a police spokesperson, Prompted by recent events, police have undertaken a review to understand what referrals may have been made to either Man Up or Legacy programmes, which are affiliated with Destiny Church. Referrals to these programmes were made following on from family harm-related events.”
Since the pride events in Feb, there have been calls on social media for Destiny’s Church and The Man Up program to be added to the groups covered by the new gang patch law.
Twyford has publicly spoken out against Destiny’s Church and called for the organisation to be removed from the charities register.
“Referrals to Man Up and Legacy need to stop. Members of these groups violently disrupted a Pride Week event at the Te Atatū Peninsula library and are now at the centre of a police investigation,” Twyford said.
“How does the minister justify referring offenders to an organisation that openly preaches hate against the Rainbow community and has a track record of violence”
Photo Credit: Stuff
