Harsher penalties for youths urged after surge in fleeing crimes in Northland

In the last 14 years, Northland has recorded 2851 fleeing driver incidents. Photo / 123rf

The Police Association is caller for harsher penalties for young fleeing drivers who appear to be unafraid of the consequences awaiting them upon being caught.

But experts in youth crime and law disagree, saying the system is the way it is for a reason.

NZ Police Association president Chris Cahill said youths, aged between 12 years to 17 years, made up a significant portion of the perpetrators of rising numbers of fleeing crimes in the last few years.

In Northland, 336 drivers fled from police between January 1 and September 30 last year - the highest figure recorded so far.

Cahill said having spoken to officers involved, he’d gathered these crimes had become a “bit of a game” for certain youths, who would take advantage of youth laws to avoid harsher penalties.

“The fact is that none of these youths are scared about consequences or thinking about being sent to prison for serious crimes. They don’t believe that they can be held accountable.”

Cahill felt kids often fled from police after committing what were generally minor crimes committed in the interest of thrill-seeking. He said they deliberately taunted officers and streamed their escapades live on social media.

He believed the number of fleeing driver incidents had risen after the introduction of the 2020 police pursuit policy, which he said gave young offenders the false impression that police would not pursue them.

But the new rules introduced under the Fleeing Driver Framework introduced last August cleared up the misunderstanding, Cahill said.

Northland roading police manager Anne-Marie Fitchett said the new framework was used as a tool for risk assessment and the concerns the decision-making process that helps justify a pursuit.

NZ Police Association president Chris Cahill says only harsher penalties would help curb more fleeing crimes.

While Cahill felt the current framework was proving effective, he advocated for harsher penalties for both fleeing drivers and youth crime in general.

According to the Land Transport (Road Safety) Amendment Bill, first-time offenders who fail to stop for police would have their vehicles impounded for six months. On the second conviction, the offender would have their licence disqualified for a period of between 12 to 24 months.

However, Victoria University of Wellington Institute of Criminology senior lecturer Dr Trevor Bradley said the youth justice system is the way it is for a reason.

The idea behind the Children, Young Persons and Their Families Act 1989 was that when youths offend, they often do so because of their reduced acumen in making sound decisions and disregarding peer pressure from others, he said.

Bradley acknowledged youth laws placed more limitations on police to deal with youths as opposed to adults, but said implementing harsher punishments or treating youths under mature laws - except for aggravated crimes - would cause considerable harm to a young person’s future.

“Hence, it’s not a very good idea to be especially punitive with young people at that early age, because the research tells us we are essentially producing the very things that we’re trying to avoid.”

Bradley said most kids who commit such crimes have often grown up in homes where family violence, alcohol and drug use have been present.

University of Canterbury senior lecturer and sociologist Jarrod Gilbert said a longer-term view around prevention, rather than “quick fixes” popular among most politicians, was needed.

University of Canterbury senior lecturer Jarrod Gilbert believes harsher penalties for youths are often counterproductive.

He said Sir Bill English’s social investment idea, based on facilitating early intervention by identifying at-risk families, was a credible proposition that was unfortunately never fully implemented.

And while the current Government appeared to have an approach on crime based on English’s idea, there was not yet any indication of how seriously they were committed to it, Gilbert said.

Bradley agreed. He said the Government’s proposed policing tactics, which included youth boot camps, were tried and tested and a proven failure.

University of Waikato clinical psychologist Dr Armon Tamatea began working in youth prisons in 2001 and is pleased few exist these days.

He said while prisons helped young people escape family violence and abuse, they were not necessarily free of violence.

Some staff were not suited to drive positive change for imprisoned youth which meant they did not always reform, Tamatea explained.

He said adolescence is a volatile period for youth as they are undergoing several social and hormonal changes and developing cognitively.

Cahill acknowledged this may mean young people could struggle to understand the outcomes of their actions, but argued when a serious incident happened, police had to take the blame.

“If they flee, we fail to stop them and they crash or kill someone, then it’s the cop’s fault,” Cahill said. “After all, you’re often judged by how it ends, not how it started. But I do admit that there is no silver bullet to solve this complex problem.”

The Advocate reached out to Police Minister Mark Mitchell for a comment.

Avneesh Vincent is the crime and emergency services reporter at the Advocate. He was previously at the Gisborne Herald as the arts and environment reporter and is passionate about covering stories that can make a difference. He joined NZME in July 2023.