Judge hits out at girl violence

Wanganui District Court. Photo / APN

A Wanganui judge has hit out at the growing prevalence of girl violence in New Zealand.

Sentencing a woman in Wanganui District Court last week on two separate assault charges, Judge John Clapham said terror tactics being used by young women and girl gangs were nothing short of appalling, the Wanganui Chronicle reported.

The rise in young women behaving violently was akin to what young males did 10 years ago, he said.

The court was told that a young woman was involved in two separate assaults on women, in one using a glass beer bottle to attack one.

The judge's comments came a week after retailers in Porirua's Hartham Place raised concerns about violent girl crime in the area, with gangs of teenagers using intimidation tactics to shoplift.

- NZPA