Youths got on OT’s roofs 15 times last year
Oranga Tamariki has confirmed that children in its youth justice facilities escaped onto roofs more than a dozen times last year – including two volatile incidents in Canterbury.
This number of roof escapes is far larger than what has been reported in the past, and was confirmed after Stuff saw previously unreported details of police call outs and staff injuries in Official Information Act (OIA) responses.
In 2023, there were 15 separate instances where young people jailed in Oranga Tamariki (OT) facilities escaped onto roofs. In many of those incidents, it was a group of young people who scaled the roofs.
Roof escapes were an ongoing issue for Oranga Tamariki in 2023, but the true scale of the issue was not made public.
Three incidents were reported publicly. It started on Waitangi Day in Canterbury, when five young people spent several hours on the roof of e Puna Wai o Tuhinapo in Rolleston and injured a staff member.
In late June and early July, another two incidents were reported when there was another roof escape in Canterbury and then a major escape at Korowai Manaaki in Auckland, when five teenagers spent more than 24 hours on the roof.
The June and July escapes created a political headache after Oranga Tamariki spent $1000 buying takeaways to lure down the teenagers.
But it turns out roof escapes were actually fairly common at Oranga Tamariki facilities last year.
Following a number of concerns about Korowai Manaaki, the South Auckland youth justice facility, Stuff asked then Children’s Minister Kelvin Davis for briefings about the facility.
The OIA response included dozens of messages to Davis, who received up-to-theminute updates about some of the escape attempts at Oranga Tamariki facilities.
For instance, at 8.39pm on April 9, 2023, Oranga Tamariki chief executive Chappie Te Kani alerted Davis to a “co-ordinated escape attempt” at Korowai Manaaki. He said the team leader had been punched in the head during the escape.
During April’s roof escape, eight young people climbed the roof and police were called. They stayed on the roof, which Te
Kani said was “wet and slippery”, overnight and climbed across units. Details of the escape were not made public at the time. A ministry spokesperson said that was because “this incident was contained within the facility and posed no threat to public safety”.
Given the April incident was kept quiet, Stuff asked Oranga Tamariki how often young offenders escape onto roofs.
Tusha Penny, the deputy chief executive in charge of youth justice, said there were 15 incidents last year. She said upgrades were being made to youth justice sites, to limit security issues like roof escapes.
“The majority of these occurred in the first half of the year, with a significant decrease in the second half. There have been none to date so far this year,” she said.
Children’s Minister Karen Chhour said she was told about the 15 roof escapes when she became minister. She said “almost all of them” happened before she became minister. “I certainly called for more action on them when I was in Opposition. I’m pleased the concerns I’ve raised with Oranga Tamariki since I became minister, about these escapes, appear to have been heard and are reflected in the lack of incidents this year.”
The union for Oranga Tamariki workers, the Public Service Association, said it had “consistently raised concerns” about staff safety during attempted escapes.
“These incidents are concerning and risky to all involved. We have consistently raised concerns and we are pleased that progress is now underway to ensure the facilities for rangatahi are fit for purpose, this is long overdue,” said PSA assistant secretary Fleur Fitzsimons.
She said she wanted assurances from the Government that investment to improve the facilities would continue.