Nats’ boot camps ‘kick in guts’

A lawyer who has represented survivors of abuse in care says the new National Party crime policy that includes military boot camps for troubled kids had brought tears to her eyes.

‘‘I literally banged my head on my desk when I read [Luxon’s proposal],’’ Sonja Cooper said.

‘‘Luxon is coming from a privileged position, with no experience of what the reality is. I think what this shows is that both he and his advisers have taken no opportunity to educate themselves.’’

National Party MPs have stood by a policy to put child repeat offenders as young as 10 in ankle bracelets and send teenagers to a military-style academy in an effort to stop repeat ramraiders, despite evidence that previous boot camp schemes did not work.

But Cooper says academic research, earlier reports from the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care, and personal stories of horror and violence from these institutions have shown that camps are not a solution to the problem of youth crime.

‘‘Been there, done that, failed. Why on earth would we want to continue experiments with our most vulnerable population?’’

And an abuse in care survivor Scott Carr’s reaction to the policy was instant. ‘‘My stomach sank, I started sweating, and I threw up.’’

He said the plan was a ‘‘kick in the guts’’ to the thousands of survivors who shared their stories of abuse at similar camps at the royal commission.

The plans, announced by party leader Christopher Luxon in Hamilton yesterday, sparked intense criticism from Acting Prime Minister Grant Robertson, Justice Minister Kiri Allan, and Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson, who slammed them as ‘‘racist’’ and ‘‘de-humanising’’.

The plans are also at odds with comments Luxon and his education spokesperson, MP Erica Stanford, made when ACT said it would put offenders aged 11 in ankle bracelets.

In September, Luxon told Newshub he ‘‘wouldn’t support that’’ while last month, Stanford said the idea ‘‘breaks my heart’’.

Stanford said yesterday that electronic monitoring was ‘‘one small part in a larger policy’’ and that the Government already put young people in ankle bracelets, a probable reference to the electronic monitoring of serious youth offenders awaiting trial in residences who are as young as 12.

However, Robertson said the plans were ‘‘reheating Bill English’s leftovers’’.

In 2017, Sir Bill English promised to create a new boot camp for youth offenders at the Waiouru army base to crack down on 150 of the country’s most serious young offenders, but Sir John Key first promised boot camps in his 2008 state of the nation speech before his election.

Robertson said National was creating a populist response to a serious issue.