Media statement Tuesday 17 Februay

Youth organisations say: Tough is not enough

People who work with youth say the youth crime bill introduced to parliament yesterday is based on a misconception that the current law isn¹t working.

New Zealand Aotearoa Adolescent Health and Development (NZAAHD) executive officer Sarah Helm said that she empathised with the new government¹s desire to address public concern about youth crime, and to prevent young people from spiralling into lives of crime.

"All information tells us that a boot camp approach alone is a waste of taxpayer money - the old corrective training sentence had a massive recidivism rate of over 90%." she said.

"The government have announced a bigger Fresh Start package which puts in some other supports for young offenders such as education.

"There definitely needs to be focused and sustained investment into other types of support services that focus on a educational, health, drug and alcohol and welfare needs."

"Young people engaged in crime usually have a range of problems contributing to their poor behaviour ­ a lifetime in state care or family abuse, learning disabilities, poverty, mental health problems, and a lack of adult support," she said.

YouthLaw Senior Solicitor John Hancock said the current law already provided for young people who commit serious crime to be tried in the adult court.

"We are also concerned that the Bill proposes reducing the age of criminal prosecution to include 12 and 13 year olds."

"Such an amendment would be difficult to reconcile within the current youth justice framework under the Act and would be contrary to New Zealand¹s international obligations under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCROC) and associated juvenile justice"

In addition, the Family Court currently possesses a wide range of powers in respect of child offenders, including reparation, services and custody orders."

YMCA New Zealand Chief Executive Officer Ric Odom notes that while there is a widely held perception that we are in the midst of a youth crime wave, overall youth crime has remained fairly constant over recent years.

"But we do have a problem with young people becoming more involved in violent crime and we do need to address it."

Every Child Counts project manager Deborah Morris-Travers said she hoped the legal process would not be rushed, as it had entered the House under urgency

"There is a great deal of knowledge and expertise that could contribute to the improvement of this bill, but we need time for the democratic process to unfold."

ENDS

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