Crackdown on youth crime: ram-raiding delinquents (if they are caught) will be ordered to clean up graffiti and pick up rubbish
The Prime Minister apparently fluffed his attempt at showing the government’s toughness on the law-and-order front. At least, that’s the way we heard it from RNZ, which – on interviewing Chris Hipkins about the need for a correction – was given an explanation.
Hipkins had announced a new offence for adults inciting youth to commit crime.
But RNZ reported this morning his office had issued a correction less than two hours later. No, there would not be a new offence. The policy instead will make it an aggravating factor in sentencing to have incited youth to commit crime.
Hipkins told Morning Report the government was originally considering targeting gang members through a new offence and details of the two options were conflated in the preparation for his announcement.
“Cabinet considered two options, one was a more targeted provision that would only apply to gang members, so that would have been a new offence, the other was to apply it more broadly, to anybody who is commissioning children to undertake criminal activity, and that … that would make an aggravating factor and so we chose the latter option.
“Unfortunately in the preparation of my speaking notes and my press statement that was conflated and I didn’t pick that up in the preparation for my press conference so yes, I absolutely accept responsibility for that, that was a mistake.”
The rest of the statement still absolutely holds, he said.
The RNZ report focused on the PM’s mistake about the new offence rather than on other aspects of the government’s statement, such as requiring child offenders to undertake community activities, such as cleaning graffiti and picking up rubbish.
This way of dealing with child offenders is included in the statement we found on the government’s official website which tells us of the steps being taken to crack down on an increase in brazen criminal offending.
This is part of “a stronger multi-pronged approach that increases accountability, gives Police more tools and beefs up programmes to break the cycle of crime”.
A more recent statement – from the PM and the Minister for Children, Kelvin Davis – suggests that at least some delinquents might be banged up in “youth justice units”.
The key elements of this statement are:
But RNZ reported this morning his office had issued a correction less than two hours later. No, there would not be a new offence. The policy instead will make it an aggravating factor in sentencing to have incited youth to commit crime.
Hipkins told Morning Report the government was originally considering targeting gang members through a new offence and details of the two options were conflated in the preparation for his announcement.
“Cabinet considered two options, one was a more targeted provision that would only apply to gang members, so that would have been a new offence, the other was to apply it more broadly, to anybody who is commissioning children to undertake criminal activity, and that … that would make an aggravating factor and so we chose the latter option.
“Unfortunately in the preparation of my speaking notes and my press statement that was conflated and I didn’t pick that up in the preparation for my press conference so yes, I absolutely accept responsibility for that, that was a mistake.”
The rest of the statement still absolutely holds, he said.
The RNZ report focused on the PM’s mistake about the new offence rather than on other aspects of the government’s statement, such as requiring child offenders to undertake community activities, such as cleaning graffiti and picking up rubbish.
This way of dealing with child offenders is included in the statement we found on the government’s official website which tells us of the steps being taken to crack down on an increase in brazen criminal offending.
This is part of “a stronger multi-pronged approach that increases accountability, gives Police more tools and beefs up programmes to break the cycle of crime”.
A more recent statement – from the PM and the Minister for Children, Kelvin Davis – suggests that at least some delinquents might be banged up in “youth justice units”.
The key elements of this statement are:
- Work has started on two new youth justice units for up to 30 “high needs youth” (another way of referring to “delinquents” and “young criminals”;
- Legislation changes will make residences safer and more secure;
- Improved Family Group Conferences and extra Family Group Coordinators will be focused on youth crime;
- Better co-operation between Oranga Tamariki and Police will result in quicker referrals and stricter compliance.
Perhaps this was put out in error and a corrected statement will follow…
Latest from the Beehive
The Government has today unveiled a plan to ensure greater coordination, provision of and access to support in regions affected by the extreme weather events earlier this year.
The Government is taking further steps to strengthen the youth justice system, with two new high needs units to be built and legislation to make residences safer and more secure.
Speech
Thank you all for your warm welcome. And thank you to the team at NZDSN for organising this conference and for giving me the opportunity to join you here today.
The Government is today taking steps to crack down on an increase in brazen criminal offending, with a stronger multi-pronged approach that increases accountability, gives Police more tools and beefs up programmes to break the cycle of crime.
An increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme will help ensure that approximately 100,000 low-income homeowners are able to pay their local council rates this coming financial year.
The statement which promised a system shake-up to tackle youth and gang crime presumably is the corrected version of an earlier statement from the PM about creating a new offence.
“Aggravation” is a key concept.
The features are:
- It will be a new aggravating factor for an adult to use young people to commit a crime;
- An aggravated sentence will apply for posting crimes online;
- Young offenders will be required to attend education programmes or do community activities;
- There will be 78 more Police prosecutors.
Therefore, the Government is creating a new aggravating factor that would apply when an adult, whether or not connected to an organised crime group, aids, encourages or incites a person under 18 to carry out an offence.
Next, posting offending behaviour online will become an aggravating factor in sentencing.
It has become increasingly common for offenders to video their criminal behaviour and post or livestream it to show off to their friends and followers.
“This ‘social media amendment’ we’re introducing will apply to adults and young people and provide the courts with an additional consideration when sentencing, and it sends a strong signal that this behaviour is unacceptable.”
Third, greater accountability back to the people and communities impacted by crime is being introduced.
For offending by children and young people from the age of 10, the Family Court will be enabled to require – not request, as it does now – offenders to undertake community activities, such as cleaning graffiti and picking up rubbish.
“The Family Court will also be able to require that an offender attend an educational, recreational or activity programme. That’s really important to get them engaged again and back on track and builds on the work we’re doing to improve school attendance.”
Accountability for victims will result in victims being entitled to attend Care and Protection Family Group Conferences for the first time in relation to children over 10.
“It will force the offender to confront the victims whose lives they are harming.”
Confrontation rather than incarceration looms large in the government’s considerations:
“None of this is about locking up children and perpetuating the cycle of crime. It’s about accountability and consequences to help break the cycle of offending.
“We’ll continue the careful and intensive work we’re doing to prevent young people from undertaking crime in the first place.”
The government will also continue to work on policies and legislation against the gangs “that are proven to work and are working”.
“Since we introduced new powers for Police to combat gang activity, we’re seeing good results, most recently in Opotiki last month, with 26 vehicles searched, four guns seized and nine arrests.
“Forty thousand charges have also been laid against gang members as part of Police’s Operation Cobalt drive against organised crime, which was funded by this government.
“But the gangs need to hear the message that they cannot act with impunity.
“The balance has shifted.”
Police Minister Ginny Andersen said the Government is backing the Police to pursue criminal offending through the courts by boosting the prosecution service with an additional $26 million to help clear the case backlog in the District Court.
This will allow Police to add up to 78 full time equivalent staff to prepare their in-court work against those who’ve committed serious crimes.
There was the strong whiff of too little too late about this when Opposition MPs produced their responses –
“After more than five years of cuddling criminals and ignoring victims, Labour’s sudden pre-election change of heart on crime is hardly believable. It’s too late, the horse has bolted, there has to be Real Change this election to put law and order in place again,” says ACT Leader David Seymour.
Despite the Prime Minister admitting the number of ram-raids has exploded under Labour, it is still refusing to impose real consequences for serious young offenders, National’s Justice spokesperson Paul Goldsmith says.
While retail crime incidents have more than doubled since 2018, fewer offenders are being held accountable for their actions, National’s Police spokesperson Mark Mitchell says.
Mark Mitchell bandied figures showing there were 6,424 convictions resulting from retail offending last year – an 8 per cent fall compared to the 7,011 in 2018.
“Staggeringly, this drop in convictions coincides with skyrocketing incidents of retail crime. The 52,356 reported incidents in 2018 more than doubled to 106,566 incidents last year.
“Offenders are simply not being held to account by a Labour Government which has been nothing except soft on crime.”
ACT and the Nats set out their respective party policies for cracking down on crime in their statements.
Point of Order is a blog focused on politics and the economy run by veteran newspaper reporters Bob Edlin and Ian Templeton
2 comments:
The image that all this conjures up is that of a destitute hobo sewing buttons on to his shredded raiment.
With all severe punishments ruled out re establishment of colonist law and order will prove near impossible. Picking up rubbish and similar demeaning tasks in public would work if severely applied. But will not be. The warders/guards/overseers will either be fellow tangata whenua or despised colonists. The latter in particular will be terrified of the relatives likely to include gang members, and, incited by the imagine decolonisation mantra, likely to react irrationally anyway. Like PD work groups, Will just be a social lark for the delinquents. Perhaps some proven old counters should be tried. A few long mornings in the stocks in downtown Takapuna, Henderson, Manakau could be worth a try.
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