The Police Minister says gangs are showing a high level of compliance with the new laws

Police are expecting large numbers of Mongrel Mob Barbarians in Nelson over the weekend - and will be deploying officers from Tasman and Canterbury to check for breaches.

Yesterday, six people were arrested for allegedly breaching the patch ban at a Tauranga tangi.

Mark Mitchell says leaders of the gangs, in particular, are trying to respond - and fundamentally don't seem to want to draw attention to themselves.

He says there will probably be some younger members who won't comply because they're not thinking about it - but police will respond to that.