Karen Chhour: Children's Minister on the reduction in serious and persistent youth offending

The Children's Minister is attributing a reduction in youth reoffending to boot camps, even though they haven't started yet.  

The Government says serious and persistent young offending has dropped by more than 14% since June 2023.  

Northland experienced the greatest decrease at 40%.  

Minister Karen Chhour told Mike Hosking there have been significant developments.  

She says they've learnt a lot from the military-style academy pilot, which has informed other programmes. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
I might have a win with new numbers around youth
offending showing it's down fourteen point six percent compared to
June of twenty three, Northland seen of forty percent drop.
Orkands down fourteen Karen Chaws, the Children's Minister of course
enders with us, Karen morning.

Speaker 2 (00:13):
I'm morning. How are you very well?

Speaker 1 (00:15):
Indeed, how much of this as ram raids, like because
we don't ram raid much anymore, that numbers naturally dropped.

Speaker 2 (00:21):
Oh yeah, that's a big part of it. I don't
have the percentage in front of me, but ram raids
have dropped by eighty two percent, and we do know
that that a small group of young people are causing
a large problem within our communities. So this isn't a
massive problem, and so we're focusing on the small group
of serious, persistent youth offenders and it's starting to work good.

Speaker 1 (00:44):
So this is the repeat of fending is down. But
one of the in your press release you're claiming boot camps.
Correct me if I'm wrong. The boot camps haven't even started.

Speaker 2 (00:53):
Yes, but we did run a pilot and we had
a lot of learnings from that pilot that we're now
using within our work. Pro working with the community, working
with the families, making sure that we have good wrap
around service with young people when they're going back to
the homes, back into their homes. So whilst the military

(01:13):
style academy hasn't started for the program within the youth
justice facilities, it doesn't mean that we haven't taken some
of those learnings and put it into our work program.

Speaker 1 (01:24):
I've also, I'm quoting you, I've also been informed that
repeat young offenders are avoiding reoffending because they know courts
are rung a tamariki and police are working together more closely.
Is that anecdotal or is that real?

Speaker 2 (01:36):
That's what I'm hearing out in the community. I'm hearing
that the consistent message from Auto Atomitiki, police and other
agencies that the message is out there that young people
know now that they're not untouchable and that there will
be consequences of their offending.

Speaker 1 (01:53):
Okay, Now, the variation and region so forty percent, Northland
thirty six, Tasman twenty eight, Wellingtons seventeen Wykatto. Can you
explain that, is that a different approach from the police
and ot or there was more crime in some areas
than others or what's going on there.

Speaker 2 (02:10):
We've had focus in some areas where we knew there
was a big problem, where communities were telling us this
was a problem. So there were some regions where where
tables were set up with cross agency approaches around the table.
But what I would say is the fast track, the
extension of the fast track that have been set up.

(02:32):
I think over multiple communities have really made a difference.
In Hamilton wrote to Rua christ Church Auckland, where we
have multiple agencies sitting around the table and making quicker,
faster decisions about what we're going.

Speaker 1 (02:47):
To do good Is there more where this came from?

Speaker 2 (02:50):
Oh, absolutely, we're not going to stop. Whilst fourteen point
six percent is a good number and we're a few
years ahead of our target, it doesn't mean we stop
keep going because communities have told us they felt unsafe
and this is a problem that needed to be fixed,
and I campaigned on making sure there were consequences for
young people. But we also need to make sure that

(03:11):
we've got good rehabilitation there so that we're not getting
this repeat of ending good stuff.

Speaker 1 (03:16):
Caaren appreciate it. Karen Shaw Children's Minister, one of the
better ones.

Speaker 2 (03:19):
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