Nats tout boot camps to curb young offenders
National is promising to bring back military-style boot camps for young offenders if elected.
The policy, announced by National leader Christopher Luxon in Hamilton yesterday, would see the party crack down on serious repeat youth offenders like ram-raiders to turn their lives around and to protect the public.
‘‘A ramraid every 15 hours shows that Labour’s soft-on-crime approach is failing,’’ Luxon said.
‘‘No place is immune from the youth crime wave, but some are being hit harder than others. For example, 20% of all recent ramraids were in the Waikato. Gang membership in the Waikato is up 70% over the past five years and gangs are recruiting nearly three times faster than police.’’
The party’s plan involves targeting serious repeat offenders with a new Young Serious Offender (YSO) category aimed at ringleaders.
This will apply to offenders aged 10 to 17 who have committed a serious offence such as a ramraid, other aggravated burglary or serious assault at least twice.
Consequences will include being sent to a Young Offender Military Academy, electronic monitoring, or being subject to an intensive supervision order in their community.
A Young Offender Military Academy would provide ‘‘discipline, mentoring and intensive rehabilitation to make a decisive intervention in these young offenders’ lives’’ for people aged 15 to 17.
They could stay for up to a year. The academies will be delivered in partnership with the Defence Force, alongside other providers.
Police data shows an uptick since the start of 2022 in the number of proceedings (alleged crimes) committed by people aged 10-19, but until now the overall trend has been falling since at least 2014. Despite the reversal, the most recent monthly data is about half what it was in 2014.
In October last year, police determined 88% of ramraiders were under the age of 20, with many under the age of 17.
A 2019 report from Oranga Tamariki found 88% of those in youth justice facilities reoffend within 12 months of release.
The plan is a retread of previous National policy involving boot camps, which were a cornerstone of Sir John Key’s 2008 state of the nation speech before his election.
In 2010 the Ministry of Social Development introduced The MAC (Military Activity Camp) programme as part of the Government’s Fresh Start reforms, aimed at 40 of the most serious and persistent youth
offenders. But a 2012 report found more than 50% of those who had been out of the camps for more than six months reoffended, including 10 youths who have committed 126 offences between them.
In 2017 National, under Bill English, again promised to reintroduce a boot camp-style service.
National would also give police greater powers to tackle gangs including by banning patches and stopping gang members gathering in public.
Community organisations and other non-government agencies would be funded to break cycles of offending. Some youth offenders could be ordered to undergo intensive supervision by community-based organisations to ‘‘face consequences’’ and turn their lives around while also staying connected to their families.
Luxon said the youth justice system worked well for the majority of young offenders with 80% of first-time offenders dealt with quickly and put back on the right path.
‘‘National’s Combatting Youth Offending Plan targets the most serious repeat young offenders and will disrupt crimes like ramraids by removing the ringleaders, some of whom have gang connections.
‘‘Labour’s current approach is to wring its hands and do nothing. That’s not working for business owners getting a call at 2am to say a car has smashed through their shop, which has been looted.
‘‘Doing nothing is also not helping offenders whose lives are destined for mayhem and misery unless there’s a circuit breaker.’’
It’s part of the party’s wider plan to ‘‘crackdown on serious repeat youth offenders’’.
Ringleaders are targeted in the plan to combat youth offending which has devastated businesses across Hamilton in particular – including some that have said they are considering closing.
The policy announcement comes as the National Party and opposition leader Christopher Luxon come to support the party’s candidate, Tama Potaka, contesting the Hamilton West byelection on the hustings.
The election was called after former Labour MP Dr Gaurav Sharma resigned from parliament in October.
Potaka, who has referred to himself as the ‘‘dark horse’’ entering the by-election and is a business leader, has signalled that he and his party will make crime a policy priority.
‘‘Hamilton has been called the ramraid capital of New Zealand. I want Hamilton West to be the best city to grow up and grow old in,’’ he said when announced as the party’s candidate.
More policy announcements aimed at courting the voters of Hamilton West are expected over the coming weeks, as the byelection heats up before December 10.