"Glasses of Bombay [gin] with orange juice because it takes the taste of alcohol away so you don't know you're drunk until you're drunk," said the woman, who now works as a retail assistant.
"We decided to go to the beach at Mission Bay.
"I went down this really skinny road and as I was coming downhill I had to go to the right side of the road because there were cars parked on the left.
"I missed the turn. I tried to turn back in but I was too far out so I turned right into the corner and the back end of the car hit the kerb and hit a power pole and then flung us in the car the other way.
"It went straight into a tree. My best friend died straight away."
She was driving 58km/h and had placed her foot loosely on the brake. She replays the moments leading up to the crash in her mind.
Why didn't she hit the brakes harder? Why was she driving at all?
She was not arrested at the scene, and another friend in the car "took the rap" so she could spend five minutes cradling her dead friend on the roadside. She now wishes she had made different decisions that night. She thinks about Brooke every day.
Two months later, police took her statement, but because she was only 16, she was
referred to a youth development programme, The Right Track, where she was forced to speak to other troubled teens about what she had done.
She also had to meet Brooke's parents. They did not want to comment to the Herald on Sunday.
"I didn't know what to say to them. It felt like I couldn't breathe, like my throat was blocked up and I couldn't speak. I could only cry."
A rapid rise in youth crime
A couple viciously beaten in Auckland's Myers Park, a bottle store worker on
Karangahape Rd assaulted, a Hastings bowling alley broken into and a security guard threatened, police car chases. The youngest involved in these crimes was 10. The oldest 17.
Last week, 17-year-old Vincent Angene Skeen was on trial in the High Court at Auckland charged with murdering 17-year-old Luke Tipene with a broken beer bottle during a fight in Grey Lynn in October last year.
And a 14-year-old serving six years behind bars for the stabbing and killing dairy owner Arun Kumar in June was fighting in the Court of Appeal to keep his name secret.
Anecdotally, police say there has been a recent and rapid rise in youth crime.
Counties Manukau Inspector Bruce O'Brien this month described a "concerning trend of young offenders having a total disregard for other people's property, or the safety of other, law-abiding members of the community.
"Unfortunately, it reflects an increasing trend across Auckland of young people stealing multiple vehicles, travelling in convoys and committing serious crimes, including ram raids on commercial premises, assaults and aggravated robberies," he said.
Police insist their figures show youth crime is dropping - but statistics are unreliable.
Police point to an overall decrease of 37 per cent in youth offending between 2010 and last year. But they refuse to give a breakdown of the types of offences involved, saying they're not allowed to release the figures because of the ages of the offenders.
Statistics New Zealand collates a monthly breakdown of figures but they only go back to July last year when they were first asked by police to collate the data. Those statistics also indicate a reduction in crime numbers among children aged 10-19.
But while the overall drop is weighted by reductions in theft and drugs, the figures show spikes in other areas. The number of 15-19-year-olds committing acts intended to cause injury and dangerous or negligent acts endangering people jumped from 2628 in August and December last year to 2873 for the first five months of this year. Those numbers fuel the assertion that our younger people are increasingly involved in more serious crime.
Auckland City Superintendent Inspector Richard Chambers says that on July 15 between 9pm and 5am, officers were involved in eight pursuits. At least 10 people were arrested, most of them teenagers. They face charges of aggravated robbery and unlawful taking of motor vehicles.
It happens nearly every night, says Chambers. "It's sad because offending of that type, violence and dishonesty, are serious and have an impact on their futures. I'm not sure they're thinking about that."
"Some might think it's a thrill to steal cars and commit serious crimes but it's no laughing matter. They're not only putting themselves at risk, they're putting the lives of their friends in danger. They're putting the lives of innocent citizens and the community at risk. It's frightening to think that somebody could lose their life."
The Children, Young Person's and Their Families Act means young offenders will keep their names -secret and not have to see the inside of the courtroom. It also means police and the jutice system must find innovative ways to give young people a second chance.
Youth development programmes established
If she had been a year older, the driver who caused Brooke's death would have faced a charge of dangerous driving causing death. She would have faced up to 10 years in jail.
But changes in how youth offenders are dealt with means as many as 80 per cent will never see the inside of a courtroom.
Since 1997, 14 youth development programmes have been created across the country. Some, like Big Brother Big Sister, have a mentoring focus, in which social workers, sports coaches or teachers become positive role models for children they will work with for four years. About 950 children aged 7-13 are involved across 15 regions.
Others, like the Genesis programme, work with families of at-risk youth over an intensive 10-week period. About 200 families take part each year and it gives parents or caregivers and children the chance to learn about about family dynamics, communication, anger management and alcohol abuse, among other things.
Police have created 240 jobs for youth aid officers and 60 non-sworn youth development officers are now stationed across the country.
Sergeant Beth Houliston, youth services co-ordinator at Glen Innes police station, is one of the officers in charge of making sure these children don't see a future for themselves handcuffed in the back of a police car.
Houliston says The Right Track has excellent results for no reoffending. Aimed at 15- to 25-year-olds, the programme runs over four weeks several times a year. Every young person in the Auckland City policing district who commits a crime involving a car will have to take part. The messages the kids learn are hard-hitting.
"They will have sessions where they talk to people from a mortuary, they will find out what it's like to go to a crash scene and pick parts of bodies up off the floor. It's graphic," says Houliston.
"They will hear from people who have been victims of a car crash and suffered a brain injury. We also have people who have lost children in car crashes. We have people talk about being behind the wheel of a car involving a fatality and the impact it has on their life."
A Child, Youth and Family spokesman says young offenders are referred to them when police intend to charge them, when the young people are ordered by a court to attend a family group conference or when the child needs to be in their care because of their crimes.
A youth justice family group conference is aimed at ensuring the young person is held accountable, to repair harm caused to victims, family and the community, to improve the child's life, and to address the underlying causes of why they started committing crimes in the first place.
Education is a huge factor in curbing child crimes. About 80 per cent of child criminals have a neuro disability or conduct disorder - like autism or foetal alcohol syndrome. Many are unable to stay focused in school.
Houliston says none of the high-risk offenders she deals with are in mainstream schools But there are alternative education classes for those children who "don't suit" a traditional school environment.
"Keeping them in school gives them a good chance of being able to make better decisions and more of a structure. They're home at night, they're getting up for school and they're awake in class," she says.
Police are also working with schools so teachers can report any signs of risky behaviour. Those are as simple as noticing a child is falling asleep in class. They might not be going to school or are hanging out with older kids who are known to police.
Houliston says few children will commit crimes on their own. They want to do what their friends are doing. It's a priority for police and CYFS to remove them from friends who are badly behaved.
Last week, a trio of Auckland teenagers allegedly stole a car and led police in a dangerous chase down the wrong way of the southwestern motorway. Several police cars, a dog unit and the Eagle helicopter were needed to stop them as they drove into oncoming traffic.
The teenagers boasted about their exploits on Facebook by posting a video of the chase from inside the car.
In the video, sirens can be heard blaring in the background and a girl in the passenger seat yells, "f*** the police". Alcohol and weapons can be seen in the car.
Police had to abandon the chase several times because it was unsafe. A 16-year-old was arrested and charged. The rest escaped after the car broke down but handed themselves in the next day.
They are likely to sit in a room together over four weeks. They will hear what it's like to pick up body parts off the road. They will hear from a mother who has lost a child to a drunk-driver.
The driver of the car in which Brooke was killed has been one of those speakers. She tells the young people in front of her what is like to kill your best friend.
By the numbers:
• 2873 teens committing acts intended to cause injury Jan-May this year.
• 950 7-13 year-olds in youth mentoring programmes
• 300 youth aid and development officers
• 80% child criminals with a nuero disability or disorder
