KEY POINTS:
A building firm has slashed the crime rate in the North Shore City suburb of Northcote by giving jobs to some of the area's worst young troublemakers.
Hawkins Construction and its subcontractors have hired 12 young offenders, including one who ran around the Northcote shops with an airgun and forced police to close off the area.
The manager of Housing New Zealand's Northcote community renewal project, Charles MacCulloch, said the company's unique initiative had helped cut crime in the area by 90 per cent.
Northcote community constable Mark Wakefield said no exact statistics were available, but crime in the area had been reduced.
One young offender who is still subject to a court curfew, Sam Helu, 17, said: "Most of us that used to walk around have a job. I feel lucky that I was one of them. Now I'm trying to change."
Faasii Peterson, 21, whose father died when he was a toddler, said he grew up selling "tinnies" and had been convicted on stealing and assault charges.
He is now one of three young offenders who are being offered apprenticeships with Hawkins. He said cutting concrete with a jackhammer was "real man work" that was good exercise as well as paying well. "To be honest, I never thought I'd be doing this, I thought I'd never like work, I couldn't picture myself working. I thought the life I was living on the street was all there was," he said. "There's no way I can thank them [Hawkins] enough. I've said thank you so many times."
The initiative stems from two Hawkins construction managers who live in the Northcote area, Mark Katterns and Rob Hodgkinson, who read in the North Shore Times about an after-school programme started by Housing NZ community worker Dude TuiSamoa.
"They came initially to offer rugby coaching, but as we got talking about mentoring, I thought, 'Aha! Your skill could be better utilised over here'," Mrs TuiSamoa said. "I do get young people saying, 'Can you get me a job?' The popular assumption is that people don't want to work. They do - it's about language, education, they are scared."
Mr Katterns, who has been with Hawkins for 30 years, said he came from a similar background.
"I come from up north, from Waitangi in the Bay of Islands. I was a young Maori boy up there. I think my parents thought I was going the wrong way, so they got me into the Maori Affairs trade training scheme in carpentry. That was the opportunity I got."
Mr Hodgkinson has been with Hawkins 18 years and is involved in a local church. "At that time I was thinking, what could I do in the community?"
The two managers went to another long-term colleague, Hawkins regional manager Don Young, who agreed to put the company's weight behind them.
"They were passionate about trying to help some kids and get them on the right track," he said.
For the first few weeks, Mr Katterns and Mr Hodgkinson went to the youths' homes to pick them up for work around 6.15 each morning, delivering them home about 6.30pm.
"I have gone into their bedrooms and said, 'Hey! Get up! Work time!"' Mr Katterns said. "For another couple of guys I knocked on the window."
Mrs TuiSamoa said: "These guys are honest, caring, directive, with great motivation. They will stand by these guys even through court."
