The Herald is running a week-long series on the smacking debate. Today we focus on the views of Child, Youth and Family Services and the police on the effect of the child-discipline law. To tell us your stories, go to the Your Views discussion. Or you can follow the debate on our facebook page.
A surge of reports to police about minor physical discipline such as smacking appears to be levelling off as New Zealanders adjust to the new child discipline law.
Police reports on the first four periods since the law was changed in June 2007 show that the number of reports to police of smacking and other minor physical discipline trebled from around four a month early in 2007 to 12 a month in the six months to April 2008.
But the numbers dropped back to nine a month, and then seven a month, in the next two six-month periods.
The number of actual prosecutions for smacking or other minor disciplinary actions has been stable at four in each of the last three six-month periods, or an average of less than one a month.
Of the total 202 cases reported to police in the first 21 months after the law was changed, 6 per cent were prosecuted, 28 per cent were referred to Child, Youth and Family Services (CYFS), 12 per cent were referred to police family violence co-ordinators and 2 per cent were referred to other agencies such as Presbyterian Support's Family Works.
No referrals were recorded for just over half the reported cases.
Deputy Police Commissioner Rob Pope said when he released the latest figures this month that the increase in reports to police reflected increased public awareness of potential child abuse.
"Yes" vote spokeswoman Deborah Morris-Travers said the law change might have driven the early surge in reports to police. She welcomed the number of cases referred by police to other agencies for support, but said much more support was needed to help families to use non-violent discipline.
But "No" vote spokesman Bob McCoskrie said the figures showed that police were wasting their time on investigating cases where no crime had been committed.
"We've got this increase in investigations, but we simply are not finding abuse," he said. "We are investigating more, yet the prosecution rate is 6 per cent."
