Karen Chhour: Children's Minister says young people involved in justice facility roof incident will face consequences

The Children's Minister says the 13 young people who scaled an Auckland justice facility will face consequences for their actions.

The group sat on the roof of the Korowai Manaaki Youth Justice Facility in Wiri yesterday evening - with seven staying overnight and causing damage to the roof.

Karen Chhour says the youths will be criminally liable for damage done to the facility.

"The ones that we have seen damage the property will be charged for that - and there will be more to come, but that's really up to the police to make those decisions now." 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Here, duper Cy Ellen.

Speaker 2 (00:01):
All the naughty kids on the roof of the Youth
Justice Facility have come down. The last of the thirteen
who climbed onto the roof of Weddy Quarterway Monarchi Facility
came down before eleven this morning. Minister for Children, Karen
Sure's with us now.

Speaker 1 (00:13):
Karen Hallo, Oh cured it. How's it going?

Speaker 2 (00:16):
Very good? Thank you? How these guys are going to
get punished.

Speaker 1 (00:19):
Oh, there's a lot going on at the moment and
police have kind of taken over in that area. They
will be facing consequences through the police laying charges where
they will be criminally reliable for the damage that has
been done to the property.

Speaker 2 (00:37):
All thirteen of them.

Speaker 1 (00:39):
The ones that we have seen damage the property, will
be charged for that and there will be more to come.
But that's really up to the police to make those decisions. Now.

Speaker 2 (00:53):
Is it true that they were demanding Big Mac Combo's
cigarettes and a getaway car?

Speaker 1 (00:58):
Yeah? I heard that story has been reported, But I've
been assured by OT that no demands were made by
these young people to staff or to anyone with a
no T And even if demands were being made, they
would not have been met ass not a negotiation, and
there's no excuse for this behavior and we won't be
negotiating in that way. Karon A.

Speaker 2 (01:19):
You're worried about how these kids keep on getting up
there because it's not the first time they've made it
onto the roof of this particular facility.

Speaker 1 (01:27):
Yeah, and you do have a good point there, But
if we look at all the work that's been put
into these youth justice facilities in this last year alone,
and particularly in this particular youth justice facility, we have
put a little improvement into lifting the safety and security
of that residence. They've obviously found another way and the

(01:49):
work has been going now to assist how that has happened.
But we've had one incident this year compared to fifteen
the year before, so that shows the work that has
been put in with staff training and the safety and
security that this is not happening as much as it
was previously, and we're also not going to tolerate it.

Speaker 2 (02:07):
Good stuff, Karen, thank you very much, appreciate it, Karen Sure,
Minister for Children.

Speaker 1 (02:12):
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Speaker 2 (02:16):
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