Get harder on youth offenders: Luxon
AUCKLAND: National Party leader Christopher Luxon is calling for greater accountability for persistent youth offenders, following a halving of prosecutions of young people.
Speaking yesterday at a dairy in Auckland that has been burgled three times in the past three months, Mr Luxon said the young owner was doing everything right, working incredibly hard and incredibly stressed and in fear about receiving the next call.
‘‘Labour just hasn’t got the balance right . . . the primary job of government is to protect its citizens.
‘‘We just clearly haven’t got the appropriate consequences in place for serious offending,’’ Mr Luxon said.
The full range of tools for the youth justice system needed to be applied right up to young offenders being locked up in youth facilities, Mr Luxon said.
‘‘Ram raids are up by 500%. We have seen a halving of youth prosecutions,’’ he said.
At least 10% of ramraid offences were committed by patched gang members or associates, and gangs were looking attractive for vulnerable people, Mr Luxon said.
‘‘We also need to use much more powerful targeted intervention, whether it’s schools where there are high levels of truancy at the moment, powering up our community organisations to provide much better role models to people and the responsibility of parents to step up and do the parenting they are not doing at the moment,’’ he said.
The owner of the Penrose dairy and post shop, who did not want to be named, has owned the business for a little over a year.
‘‘As a business owner I feel insecure. In the last few months what has happened seems like really normal now.’’
A recent briefing to incoming police minister Chris Hipkins detailed how youth prosecutions had halved since 2017; more referrals and noncourt solutions were being reached. In 2021, 64% of youth offending was addressed through noncourt action.
In the same year, more 15 to 19yearolds were apprehended for burglary than any other age group, with 10 to 14yearolds the secondhighest age group.
The briefing identified ‘‘children who offend and serious and persistent offending by young people’’ as a priority.
‘‘The number of young people in these cohorts is small, but they represent the most visible gap in our current model.’’
National justice spokesman Paul Goldsmith believed a stronger approach to repeat youth offenders was justified.
‘‘National agrees that for minor and firsttime offenders it’s right to minimise contact with the formal justice system,’’ Mr Goldsmith said.
‘‘But the pendulum has swung too far. Greater accountability is needed for serious repeat young offenders, and they need targeted support to move on to more positive pathways.’’
Act New Zealand Party leader David Seymour was also hot on the topic, asking for an explanation from Mr Hipkins why some businesses reportedly could not access the Government’s $6 million fund for protective measures against ram raids and burglaries.
‘‘Police decide what businesses are eligible and it seems that part of the criteria is that you have already been ram raided. So, to be eligible for protection from ram raids, you first have to be ram raided,’’ he said.
One way youth offending was addressed was through family group conferences.
The conferences, commissioned through either the police or Youth Court, included representatives from Oranga Tamariki, police, the offender’s whanau, the victim, programme leads and other community representatives.
While National has previously criticised the approach, experienced Auckland social worker Stephen Boxer supported their use.
Mr Boxer, who managed two Graeme Dingle Foundation youth programmes, said FGCs were largely successful, but felt they were too often led by Oranga Tamariki instead of members of the community.
‘‘It should be driven from the community by credible community providers, people specially trained who’d be able to facilitate that process.’’—