A Black Power life member and community advocate says police misread the situation in Hawke's Bay.
Armed police officers have been patrolling the streets since a spate of clashes between the Mongrel Mob and Black Power in Napier on Sunday.
Detective senior sergeant Mike Foster says gang-related violence is on the rise in the region as turf wars erupt over the methamphetamine trade.
"So we've seen gang members stabbed, we've seen turf wards down at Anderson Park between Mongrel Mob and Black Power, and that's not unusual but it's ramping up."
Mr Foster says gangs are becoming more visible and flashy, and their younger members are increasingly out of control due to the burgeoning meth trade.
He says there are about 1,000 gang members in Hawke's Bay and Gisborne, an increase of 58 percent over the last two years, and they were increasingly visible in the community.
A specialist gang taskforce had been operating in Hawke's Bay since May which was doing all it could, but the police acknowledged that they could not "arrest their way out of" the issue.
"They've probably arrested well over 60 gang members in that time, seized over $250,000 cash etc. They're going into the homes, executing search warrants, and they're making referrals to agencies for the children."
Life member of Black Power and a community advocate Denis O'Reilly told Morning Report he wants to see more community work.
