The Government is aiming to stop children aged 10-13 from reoffending through a number of new “circuit breaker” initiatives.
This latest response aims to build on the Government’s Better Pathways package - an effort to get young offenders to re-engage with education and training.
The latest measures include a fast-track intervention for children aged 10-13 who are engaging in serious and persistent offending - children who offend will now have a plan put in place within 24 to 48 hours of offending.
Kotahi te Whakaaro - an effort to get offenders under 14 to re-engage with education, family and community - will also be expanded to 14-17-year-olds and looks to increase funding for community support programmes across four regions.
Minister for Children Kelvin Davis said serious reoffending takes place when a child is placed back in the community with no support or limitations.
He said the new response would stop children and young people from reoffending before they even have a chance to.
“While the Youth Justice system can act as a circuit-breaker for young people aged 14 to 17, there is a small number of children aged 10-13 who continue to re-offend at a high rate,” Minister for Children Kelvin Davis said.
“At the moment when police make an arrest, children often end up placed back in the community with little support and few limitations on their behaviour until a more comprehensive plan is in place. This can lead to re-offending again before the process for the first offence even begins."
The measures mean that information about the child will be shared with Oranga Tamariki within 24 hours of being apprehended, and an agreed plan for how to support the young person will be confirmed in 48 hours.
Davis says this approach is much better, as family group conferences and court proceedings can take weeks to actually happen - increasing the chance of a child reoffending.
Counties Manukau and Waitakere will be the first places to have the initiative rolled out.
Police Minister Chris Hipkins believes the newest response will see reoffending go down and crimes like ram-raids occur less often.
“By taking this approach, fast-tracking it and applying it to a small group of 10-13-year-olds who are serious and persistent offenders, we can help address the recent spike in offending and continue to see the number of ram-raids come down,” Hipkins said.
“Already, we’ve seen a reduction of nearly 80% over the past three months.”
Minister for Social Development Carmel Sepuloni said that the better pathways package has already contributed to crime numbers dropping, with these latest measures aiming to keep that momentum going.
“In South Auckland, of the young people referred after committing a ram-raid or other vehicle offence, just 14% have reoffended,” Sepuloni said.
Sepuloni hopes that the expansion of Kotahi te Whakaaro would allow agencies to directly address the needs of young people who are offending, as most of them are experiencing difficulties in their lives.
“The data shows that many of the children and young people who have engaged in offending behaviours are experiencing complex difficulties in their lives, including violence in the home and disengagement from education.
"This funding, alongside the expansion of Kotahi te Whakaaro, allows us to deal with and respond to the needs of children and young people who are doing the offending, as well as their families to help change the environment they are living in,” Sepuloni said.
The number of ram-raids across the country has significantly dropped over the last few months, with 75 taking place in August, compared to 15 in November.
The Government says they hope the new measures will allow this number to drop even further.
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