I can’t tell you how over it I am. I’m sure you are too. It’s actually getting ridiculous and what I’m worried about now is that not even a change of government is going to stop it.
A stabbing murder at an Albany bus stop in Auckland Monday, another knife incident 30 minutes later in Auckland’s Waterview, the next day, Tuesday, a person taken into custody after a knife found Kepa Road, in Auckland’s Orakei. That same day a shooting at a Rotorua intersection.
And it’s not just Auckland and Rotorua, the night before in Christchurch ten youths went on a crime spree, breaking into shops to steal stuff, also stealing cars. The week prior there were three aggravated robberies across Auckland’s Point Chevalier and Mt Albert... a gang member was rounded up for those.
These are just the ones that make the news. And don’t get me started on all the people out on ankle bracelets on home detention who’re committing crimes and absconding from Police. The level of crime, particularly youth crime, is a major issue... we know it, we’ve had years of it building to this point. It’s one of the things politicians argue about at length in terms of how to solve. Is it absent disinterested parents? Is it gang households? Is it gang recruiters? Is it school absenteeism and boredom from disengaged youths who’ve dropped out of school? Is it addiction issues... alcohol, drugs, vapes? Is it poverty? Is it cost of living? Is it Tik Tok? Is it Kelvin Davis’ genius plan to empty the prisons? A plan they’re now resiling from, surprise surprise.
How much can we pin on that particular disastrous policy? Probably quite a lot to be honest. Consider the irony, when the new Labour government back in 2017, promised to reduce the prison population by 30% over 15 years. Commentators at the time said, “the last thing any Government wants is to look soft on crime.” Fast forward to 2023 and what do we have here? An election about to be lost by the government based on exactly that. They've looked too soft on crime. Endless soft on crime decisions, which have seen us end up where we are.
So given all that, what are the solutions? The criminals and the gangs already running amok. The horse has bolted. So how to turn this around? It's complex, complex, complex, they keep telling us. And to be fair, I think it is. So are the solutions community based? Do offenders need to face tougher penalties? Should we lock more young people up? Should we invest more in their education? Should we work with parents more? Are schools doing enough? Are the Police well enough resourced to deal with it?
Last night at the leaders debate Chris Hipkins said he wants to 'turn young people's lives around'. That's a bit rich when you've had 6 years to do that, and you didn't. Luxon said they'll tackle the gangs and back the Police. Hipkins then said they'll go after gangs too. But all the tough talk doesn't mean much if the reality doesn't match.
Kate Hawkesby is a journalist and broadcaster who hosts the Early Edition show on Newstalk ZB.
5 comments:
Kate, thanks for the well written piece.
I'm over it. A lot of people are. I said 2 years ago I felt this election would be won/lost on crime, I'm probably partially right.
In my work, I've been threatened to be killed so many times its not funny. I don't even report it now. It's just part of living and working in labours great vision of how nz should be. Labour have normalised crime.
Labour HAVE to go and poor national have one he'll of a mess to mop up. How you fix the disaster of the last 6 years is beyond me.
I think it is a breakdown of societal norms. Just last night I walked to my local supermarket at 7pm. You see so much dysfunction everywhere that you didn't see prior to covid. Several cars drove by shaking under the gangster music loudly playing, people sort of laughing crazily to each other on the footpath or yelling. Then inside the supermarket two people who obviously hadn't showered for some time made the aisles smell so badly of b.o. Yet sadly, this has becone the norm. You look at.photos of auckland in the 1970s, people dressed nicely in suits, and full of life. The contrast could not be more different. This and the internet are feeding the crime.
Being in the 90s I did the then compulsory NZ 18year old military training we were taught discipline and show respect to the officers which to the ram raider youths of this generation have no fear of consequences or the police..The parents are the ones who need to be challenged over the control of the children to start with and vehicles take off them till the cost of damage has been recovered
My theory is that, being predominantly maori setting the pace, it all stems from the "imagining decolonistion" campaign proudly preached in marae country wide by the late Moana Jackson and fellow seditious malcontent activists. The message was/is obscure so was interpreted by eagerly receptive mostly much simpler minds as "enact decolonisation" ie oppose everything of colonist origin including civilised social behaviour and the law generally. Encouraged by the anti convention antics and statements of Te Pati and other maori leaders, the concept and moral justification has permeated all maoridom. Many pacifica identify with, and others reason that they are mugs to remain the law abiding exception.
The well disciplined charter schools with structured learning in South Auckland is one example of what should be done. Well, we Know who closed those down. Sure parents are responsible but the completely dysfunctional schooling we have now is not helping out to remediate children from horrible backgrounds.
Marva Collins, a famous US teacher showed what can be done with black ghetto children in inner city Chicago where drugs, gangs and unemployment were rampant.
She turned the kids around with old fashioned teaching methods and discipline. Most achieved high school certificates and attended college.
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