Ministers avoid mention of “boot camps” but media let us know their introduction is the aim of law and order announcement
Law and order has been to the fore of the latest bunch of ministerial announcements.
Police Minister Mark Mitchell and Associate Police Minister Casey Costello have welcomed the deployment of more police on the beat in Auckland’s central business district.
And Minister for Children Karen Chhour has announced the introduction of “a new declaration for young offenders to ensure they face tougher consequences and are better supported to turn their lives around”.
Chhour was referring to the new Young Serious Offender (YSO) declaration which can be applied to teenagers between 14 and 17 who have committed two offences punishable by 10 years of imprisonment.
She did not mention “boot camp” in her statement.
But the mainstream media brought that expression into considerations, when they reported the announcement, and at RNZ, “tougher consequences” became “harsher penalties”.
So-called YSOs may be sent to a military-style boot camp which is entering its pilot phase.
Life just became a bit more challenging for people on Jobseeker Support benefits, too.
About 20,000 Jobseeker beneficiaries with full-time work obligations are expected to attend the Ministry of Social Development’s new ‘Work check-in’ seminars over the next 12 months.
Chhour was referring to the new Young Serious Offender (YSO) declaration which can be applied to teenagers between 14 and 17 who have committed two offences punishable by 10 years of imprisonment.
She did not mention “boot camp” in her statement.
But the mainstream media brought that expression into considerations, when they reported the announcement, and at RNZ, “tougher consequences” became “harsher penalties”.
So-called YSOs may be sent to a military-style boot camp which is entering its pilot phase.
Life just became a bit more challenging for people on Jobseeker Support benefits, too.
About 20,000 Jobseeker beneficiaries with full-time work obligations are expected to attend the Ministry of Social Development’s new ‘Work check-in’ seminars over the next 12 months.
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The decision to deploy more Police on the beat in Auckland CBD has been welcomed by Police Minister Mark Mitchell and Associate Police Minister Casey Costello.
The Government is introducing a new declaration for young offenders to ensure they face tougher consequences and are better supported to turn their lives around, Children’s Minister Karen Chhour announced today.
According to the Jobseeker announcement, about 190,000 people currently receive Jobseeker Support but only about 53,000 have employment case managers at any given time.
Louise Upston says she is concerned the other 137,000 job seekers can go many months without talking to MSD about how they are progressing, with some not having to check back in until they reapply for their benefit 12 months later.
Steps taken to support the coalition Government’s Jobseeker target now include:
- The Government making its view clear that benefit sanctions should be fully applied, rather than used sparingly, to incentivise job seekers to fulfil their work obligations.
- Introducing ‘Kōrero Mahi – Let’s talk work’ seminars that job seekers attend within two weeks of coming onto benefit to help them understand the support that is available, what is expected of them, and have their next steps decided.
- Introducing ‘Kōrero Mahi – Work check-in’ seminars that job seekers attend after six months to assess their progress and whether they need more support.
- Continued investment of $1.1 billion in MSD’s frontline employment programmes and financial supports through Budget 2024.
- An additional 21 police officers will be redeployed in Auckland City, bringing the total number of beat police in the CBD to 51 by the end of July.
- The establishment of Community Beat Teams for towns and cities across New Zealand that will be rolled out over the next two years.
Mitchell said:
“Gangs are about to get hit hard by laws that give Police more power to go after them,” says Mr Mitchell.
“Three Strikes is coming back this year so that repeat offenders face tougher consequences, and we have plans to reduce the sentence discounts that judges can apply.
“And we are setting up military-style academies for serious and persistent young offenders who are responsible for much of the retail crime around the country.”
Karen Chhour revealed a bit more about those academies.
The Young Serious Offender declaration will provide more options for the Youth Court and Police to hold serious and persistent young offenders accountable and make powerful interventions to improve their lives.
“We know that small numbers of young people are committing a significant proportion of youth crime in New Zealand,” says Ms Chhour.
“The YSO declaration will give Police and the Youth Court more options for dealing with them effectively.
“YSOs could be sent to a new Military-Style Academy, subjected to a greater use of electronic and judicial monitoring, and Police will have the power to arrest a young person without warrant for non-compliance with conditions of an order or a breach of their bail conditions.
“These interventions will not only benefit their lives in the long run but will reduce the number of victims they are creating.”
The government is setting up a pilot Military-Style Academy programme based at the youth justice facility in Palmerston North, under the current law.
The pilot will be run for 10 young people already in youth justice facilities and feature a three-month residence stage, followed by a nine-month community phase. Participants will follow a specially created curriculum and syllabus, with daily activities to support their health, learning and wellbeing. This will include military-style activities.
Oranga Tamariki has worked closely with the New Zealand Defence Force, the Ministry of Justice, New Zealand Police, local mana whenua and other community groups to design the pilot.
Under the planned law, a Youth Court judge will have the final say on declaring someone a Young Serious Offender, and a young person will be eligible if:
- they are 14 to 17 years old at the time of offending
- have had two offences punishable by imprisonment of 10 years or more proven in court
- are assessed as being likely to reoffend, with previous interventions having proven unsuccessful.
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