Police had multiple concerns with implementing the Government's new gang laws this year, including safety risks and a potential loss of public trust and confidence, ministerial briefings reveal.

The Gangs Bill, which is expected to pass its third reading in the House next week, gives police a range of new powers to crack down on gangs, including the ability to disperse gatherings, and ban gang insignia in public.

It's set to come into force on November 21, but in March, police warned Minister Mark Mitchell key tasks would be unlikely to be completed, if the laws were implemented this year.

Police said reducing the commencement timeframe could "expose frontline staff to safety risk - if the 10,000 front-line staff are not adequately trained in the new policies and processes."

However Police Minister Mark Mitchell said he is "very confident" police will be adequately trained, and have systems prepared and ready to go in November.

Police told Newstalk ZB officers are being prepared to enforce the new laws in November, but Police Association President Chris Cahill said this timeframe is "certainly going to put some pressure on police."

"It's not like Police have a lot of free time as it is - we're pretty stretched resource-wise even to get the training done, much less to start policing it."

The briefing, released under the Official Information Act, stated Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith wanted to shorten the commencement timeframe, bringing the laws into force in 2024.

On top of safety risks, police advised this could result in "powers not being used to full effect or being inconsistently enforced" if ICT systems aren't in place, or impact on the data collection and verification processes needed for reporting on the new laws' effectiveness.

It also warned any of these impacts could "create the potential for a loss of trust and confidence in Police and the Government."

It comes after the Ministry of Justice advised in its regulatory impact assessment gang members could defy the ban in places where enforcement's challenging, which risks undermining public confidence in law and order.

A Police briefing the following month emphasised an implementation date earlier than February 2025 would be challenging - but proposed a start date of November 21, to avoid implementation during the busy Christmas period.

Assistant Commissioner of Investigations Paul Basham told Newstalk ZB work is underway to ensure police officers are equipped with the information and guidance needed for these new powers.

"It’s the job of police to enforce the law, and when this law passes, we will enforce it. Police as an organisation is well-practised in dealing with gang members."

But Police Association President Chris Cahill said regardless of when the gang patch ban is implemented, it will cause problems at a practical level.

"It's the simple practical ability for officers in many locations to physically arrest gang members who refuse to take their patch off in a public place. It's simply not going to be viable for a large number of police staff.

"If you're working in Wairoa and you've got two police officers and twenty gang members, it's very clear you're not going to be able to enforce that law at that time."

Labour's Police spokesperson Ginny Andersen said it's clear police would have preferred the laws to be implemented in February, but are pushing ahead with 21 November.

She said the key concern is how a lack of enforcement would impact public perceptions of police.

"The concern raised both by police and Police Association has been that if people see these laws now in force, but not enforced, that potentially creates a loss of confidence and trust in police to enforce the law."

Police Minister Mark Mitchell denied the implementation of the laws had been rushed, saying the policy has been well signalled from before National were even in Government.

"None of this stuff has been put through in urgency - we've allowed it the time to go through a Select Committee process, giving police the time to get ready and prepared for it."

Sophie Trigger is a Senior Political Reporter in Newstalk ZB's Press Gallery team. She has previously worked for New Zealand Herald, and Stuff.