Darroch Ball: Will They Lower the ‘Youth Court’ Age?

The ‘Make It 16’ campaign has recently had a decision by the courts go their way in seeking the voting age be lowered to 16. The issue has been around for some time, but for some reason it has now taken a new step with the campaign going through the courts.

When the original campaign was launched in 2019, the then Children’s Commissioner Andrew Becroft and the likes of the Greens also joined the chorus commenting that if the voting age were lowered it would give youth a voice and increase civic participation and voter turnout. This argument makes no sense on so many levels it is pretty difficult to figure out where to begin.

Darroch Ball: The Problem with the Bollards

If bollards were the solution to ram raids and youth crime, then the National Party’s solution of fog cannons would have solved it eight years ago – because it’s the same thing.

The reason why they both won’t work is that they aren’t even touching the sides of the problem: the offenders.

It’s almost an admission of failure. They can’t deal with the offending so they just try and mitigate the effects. Folks, that’s literally the limit of these measures.

Darroch Ball: Law and Order: Holding Govt to Account

Sensible Sentencing Trust has been working hard over the past few months on an important piece of work that will be released within the next couple of months. We are working on a law-and-order manifesto where we not only have the policy stances for real change in our system, but we will have the most important policies written as legislation ready to be adopted by the next government – whoever that may be.

We are aiming to have 10 policies in our manifesto that we will publicly release and will publicly hold to account every political party running in the next election. We will use it to challenge political parties to make real change in the justice system and measure their own policies against what the trust believes needs to change.

Darroch Ball: Where Is the Punishment and Accountability?

We need to stop making excuses for these idiot teen criminals.

We have created this environment for this sort of behaviour to fester – but our government, system, and media continue to give them every reason to continue to do what they’re doing and, worse, to encourage the recruitment of younger kids to do it.

So what if they are vulnerable, poor or uneducated or, dare I say it, ‘victims of colonisation’. Go tell that to the dairy owner when his business has been smashed and robbed for the fifth time this year, or when a baseball bat is swung at his head, or the security guard who just got bashed for it. How does that make it OK?

Darroch Ball: Youth Crime and Manipulation of the Stats

There have been comments from the Minister of Justice, and repeated in the media, about the recent youth crime wave being a so called ‘spike’. What they want is to create a message that it is ‘short term’, ‘fixable’, and ‘unexpected’. All of which are not true.

They say there has been a ‘spike’ in gang tensions, in youth crime, in ram raids, in violence, and in shootings. Don’t for one second think this is true. Moreover, don’t think this trend in the increase in all of these things hasn’t been totally predicted or forewarned. This is not a ‘spike’. It is the beginning of a new upward trend.

Darroch Ball: They Are Just Taking the Mickey Now

In response to the smoke and mirrors ‘Youth Crime Announcement’ from the government, the Act Party has said that these youths need to be on electronic monitoring.

Firstly there is nothing new about what Labour have announced – it just ‘expands’ the same old stuff they have been relying on for the past five years. More ‘community wellbeing boards’, more wrap-around support, more excuses, more hugs, more mugs of Milo. Literally nothing different.

Darroch Ball: A new standard for our justice system?

If what we are seeing in our justice system is the new standard then we have lost before we have even started.

Here is a guy, 47 year old Joseph Martin, who clearly has been a career criminal, with over one hundred convictions – his last stint in prison was in 2017 for being accessory to manslaughter. Last November he beat his partner, including stomping and kicking, breaking her fingers and extensive bruising. He was found guilty of injuring with intent, threatening to kill, and assault with a weapon.

Expect a lengthy prison sentence? Justice for the victim? Keeping a violent repeat offender off our streets? Well you might, but not according to the government’s “Ta Ao Marama” approach.
This violent, repeat, career criminal, woman basher was sentenced to four months community detention. Four months community detention.