David Letele (left), aka The Brown Buttabean, with Philip Tele'a at community-based boot camp BBM in Manukau. Photo / Brett Phibbs
David Letele (left), aka The Brown Buttabean, with Philip Tele'a at community-based boot camp BBM in Manukau. Photo / Brett Phibbs
Opinion by Rob Campbell
OPINION
Moves to apply military-style boot camps to young repeat offenders have attracted a lot of attention, even amongst the deluge of actions deriving from the negotiations that forged the coalition.
They appeal to “get tough on crime” advocates, and the ethnicity of many young offenders will have added appeal to some of a racist bent. Evidence on the ineffectiveness of such camps has been ignored in favour of anecdote and reminiscence by its political advocates.
The fact that Oranga Tamariki will be the organiser does not increase confidence. It hardly has a track record that encourages that. And amongst the communities, the hapori very often of offenders, OT is not regarded as an ally.
One-way path for our youth in the youth justice system Photo / NZME
All of that is concerning, but there is another aspect that adds to it all. Youth crime does not occur in a vacuum, if only because we do not live in that state. You cannot separate the young offender from their whanau, hapu and community.
Well, you can. You can take them out of that environment to a military-style boot camp for a period of time. But is it wise to do so?
Given that crime occurs in a context, if you do not deal with that context, all you are doing is punishing. That may satisfy some shallow part of emotion from observers or victims, but it is no solution to the next occurrence or to the distress and alienation that caused it. A happy, supported, stimulated and satisfied young person does not go out on ram raids. Unhappy, isolated, bored and alienated youth often do.
We need a response for repeat offenders
It’s not hard to see that some sort of response is needed for repeat offenders. It’s not good for them or anyone else. And it seems obvious to me anything that works will have a base in mutual support, mental and physical stimulation and reward rather than punishment. Even the idea that physical activity forms part of punishment is damaging. It should be rewarding and positive, presented and experienced as such.
And any such process is best based where the young person lives and will live. Not taken out of context for punishment.
As it happens, I know some people who do this sort of work in Manukau — Dave Letele’s BBM team. They are not the only ones, there are such groups all around the motu, community or iwi based. Working with young people, offenders or not, but all facing the same issues of poverty and alienation in the world they live in now and will have to live in.
I talked about this with Dave, who said it more simply than I can. “Positive action must involve the whole whanau or aiga , whether the problem is crime, health, mental or physical. If you treat it as individual problem you are wasting your time. With young people they are already feeling lost and unhappy. That’s what has to change and it needs everyone around them involved.”
So taking rangatahi off to military-style boot camps? “It’s the opposite of what is needed.”
Dave goes on, “We do some of this. We could do a lot more if we had the funding. We and other community and iwi groups want to. It hurts that we can’t do enough.
“We can run camps for rangatahi cheaply and effectively here. We would involve their families, include those at risk as well as those who have offended a few times already. We can show them better and safer ways and build them up together.”
“We live in the city. But urban marae could do the same. So could home marae in the rural areas. Our physical programmes will match whatever the soldiers can throw at them, I assure you. But it will be their programme, a step forward with a helping hand, not a slap to the head and a boot on the bum.”
A happy, supported young person does not go out on ram raids, says Rob Campbell. Photo / Michael Craig
The coalition should give BBM a go. There will be others with similar capability. Never mind the under-resourced military and the discredited OT. Hand it back to the community — isn’t that what the coalition claims to support?
Rob Campbell is a professional director and investor. He is chancellor at AUT, chairman of Ara Ake, chairman of NZ Rural Land, and an adviser for Dave Letele’s BBM charity. He is also the former chairman of Te Whatu Ora (Health New Zealand).
