Could Blue Light camps be a solution to youth crime rate?

One of the challenges involved paddling to an island and erecting a flagpole using lashings the boys had learned earlier in the day.

A series of outdoor activity camps run by police charity Blue Light could be part of a long-term solution to the Mid North's high youth crime rate, according to a Kerikeri-based Police Youth Aid officer.

Senior Constable Rob Cameron said the first camp, where at-risk youth learn about teamwork and sound decision-making, at Lonsdale Park earlier this month, involved four boys, aged 11 to 13. They were chosen from each of the Kerikeri-Waitangi, Kawakawa-Moerewa, Kaikohe and Kaeo areas and were teamed up with a local police mentor.

Some were chosen for leadership potential, others because they were at risk, although none had come to police attention for the wrong reasons.

They took part in outdoor activities and competed as teams in problem-solving challenges, but the real benefits came from extensive contact before and after the camp between the police officers, the boys and their families, in mentoring, home visits and activities such as waka ama.

"If we hold four camps a year, that would mean significant, positive police contact with 64 kids and their whanau every year," Senior Constable Cameron said.

The three-day camp was run along military lines thanks to Constable Ihaka Lenden, a former Navy physical training instructor, with order, urgency, push-ups and standing to attention.

"The kids loved it," he said.

The final day featured a tough team challenge and an award ceremony, with the boys' whanau present.

"The idea is to build relationships with police, to give these kids a skill set that lets them make the right sort of choices as they go through their teenage years. We see it as a positive thing we can do to try to counteract the spike in serious youth offending we've got in the Mid North, and prevent the all too easy slide into a life of crime," Senior Constable Cameron said.

Police had committed to providing staff and vehicles, but Blue Light received no police funding. The officers fundraised in Kaikohe and Kerikeri to pay for two camps. The cost of the first had been kept to $1300 by officers' partners doing the cooking.

Blue Light camps in Auckland cost $500 per child.