Why tensions Flared in youth justice units
A damning picture has emerged of five years in which there have been seven reviews, numerous escapes and accusations of excessive force at the facilities. Andrea Vance reports.
The Government has halted plans to build two youth justice units, as a damning picture of life inside the residences emerges. Minister for Children Karen Chour said she had paused work on the high-needs facilities promised by her predecessor Kelvin Davis in the wake of a series of scandals at the Oranga Tamariki-run facilities.
It comes as new documents, released under the Official Information Act, reveal:
Investigations into excessive use of force against children in the units soared last year, up from seven in 2022 to 20 in 2023. There was just one incident in 2018.
Six youths escaped from a Rotorua facility and were seen trying to break into a house within three hours. That incident came just over a week after four teens broke out of a South Auckland residence.
Seven reports, undertaken in the past four years, paint a damning picture of security and culture, including under-staffing and multiple escapes.
A recurring theme in the investigations is the changing demographics in the units: a law change in 2016 saw more 17-year-olds introduced into the system.
A string of security failings, including rooftop protests, have plagued the units since 2019. Last year the agency was rocked when it emerged boys were forced to fight by staff, and two employees were suspended over allegations of inappropriate sexual behaviour.
The first investigation was ordered after four residents, aged between 15 and 17, absconded from South Auckland’s Korowai Manaaki in late December 2019. Two were found within minutes, but the others were at large for two days.
Just over a week later, six escaped from Te Maioha o Parekarangi, in Kapenga, just outside Rotorua. Less than three hours later they were seen trying to break into a house in the city. Four were arrested that evening, one two days later and the final young man was on the run for a fortnight. The day of the escape coincided with a staff member’s tangi and a number of employees attended.
An eight-page security review, released under the Official Information Act but heavily redacted, points to flaws with the training, staffing and monitoring of CCTV.
In October 2020, Wellington-based Icarus consultants were hired to do a security review of Korowai Manaaki. They pointed to a series of risks, including that the age of residents was increasing and “an older cohort defined by gang affiliation” presented a future problem. The report also noted an upward trend in intentional damage. Staff also felt dis-empowered to deal with incidents because of the ministry’s regulations.
The report identified problems with a security fence, and weakness in the walls
and windows, although much of the detail was redacted. Maglocks on steel doors would be temporarily disabled in the event of a power failure, the consultants noted.
Staffing in the centre’s control room was also inadequate.
Icarus also reviewed the physical security systems at Te Maioha o Parekarangi, and its report points to another escape in January 2020, although details are withheld.
“We were interested to learn about the volatility and unpredictability of the 12- to 13-year-old cohort and their ingenuity in fashioning implements that could be used to inflict harm on each other and members of staff,” the report’s authors said.
Youth-on-youth violence inspired by gang affiliations was the prevalent threat, and tagging and vandalism happened on a weekly basis. It recommended small changes to security settings.
By July 2020, the high-profile escape of teen killer Haami Hanara, 16, and a 17-yearold boy attracted “significant political and media interest” and Oranga Tamariki commissioned an investigation into leadership, culture and capability within Youth Justice Residential Services. It noted “a number of employment investigations alleging misconduct and serious misconduct by staff at Korowai Manaaki in recent months.”
Sick leave and overtime hours at the facility were higher than for the other residences, but the report said there were sufficient staff for supervision. There was also a “relatively relaxed approach” to standard operating procedures and “the emphasis on security and safety may be less pronounced than in the other residences”. Regular drills were not carried out.
Whakatakapokai centre was opened to residents in Weymouth, Auckland in
July 2021. Within three months, two teens escaped from a courtyard, despite being under the supervision of two staffers.
Icarus conducted another security review and found the residents scaled a fence, climbed onto the roof of a building and jumped down into an insecure area of the facility, allowing them to walk out.
The report said the employees watching them were inexperienced, reluctant to use physical force and didn’t communicate well with the unit’s control room as the escape unfolded.
Because the unit is in a suburban setting planning rules “limit the height and location of security fences along with the placement of CCTV cameras,” and razor wire is not appropriate in a youth justice centre, the report said.
“The physical security controls should not be solely relied on,” but “response processes” were not followed. But Icarus made no recommendations as the vulnerabilities were since “appropriately mitigated”.
Despite scrutiny, problems persisted and by July 2022 the focus was back on Korowai Manaaki. Former police commissioner
Mike Bush was commissioned to review the residence and advised the Government to shut it down saying it was a “near miracle” no-one had been hurt or killed.
An “under-qualified and under-prepared” workforce was not trained to deal with high-needs teenagers, he wrote. Weak health and safety practice – and bored inmates – both exposed residents and staff to “unacceptable levels of risk” and a “powder-keg of pressure”. But youth crime – and a false perception that it was rising – was dominating the political agenda in election year.
Officials opted to keep the 46-bed centre open.
Within a year, Bush was back – this time in-house as deputy chief executive –after five teenagers escaped onto Korowai Manaaki’s roof, causing significant damage during a 40-hour stand-off.
A sickening video then emerged just a few days later, showing a fight between two children. A staff member had filmed the video and another appeared to egg on the violence.
Bush’s rapid review led to 22 staff being removed from residences, and three staff facing police charges. Complaints, stretching back to 2015, included inappropriate language, supplying contraband and physical and sexual assaults.
Iain Chapman, Oranga Tamariki’s National Director Youth Justice and Care and Protection Residences said the centres are volatile environments that house young people with complex needs.
“We have also been clear that staff behaviour in some of our residences has not always been appropriate and we are actively working to drive change through recruitment and leadership,” he said. “That includes a recruitment drive, improved induction and new leadership.”
The agency has undertaken a “significant amount of work” to identify and strengthen vulnerabilities, he said. “This includes the targeted hardening of physical spaces in the residences.”
It also implemented specific training for future security incidents. There have been no rooftop incidents or escapes this year, he said.
The ministry did not answer questions on how many staff had been disciplined over excessive force, nor explain last year’s increase in excessive force complaints.
Chhour said planning for the new units “has been paused while work is continuing to stabilise the existing residences and homes network, with a focus on recruitment to safe staffing levels and strengthening these environments through investment in increased security measures.”
She does support Labour’s proposed law change that would permit Oranga Tamariki guards to search visitors and residents.
“The process to develop the new law is ongoing,” she said.
“We have also been clear that staff behaviour in some of our residences has not always been appropriate and we are actively working to drive change through recruitment and leadership.” Iain CHapman Oranga Tamariki’s National Director Youth Justice and Care and Protection Residences