There are five youth justice residences across the country. Photo / Michael Craig.
There are five youth justice residences across the country. Photo / Michael Craig.
Some young offenders freed from state residences are choosing to commit more crime so they can return to supervised custody, rather than living scared and hungry at their own homes.
The teens feared going back to their homes or caregivers and deliberately committed fresh crimes to be returned to one of the country’s five facilities, MPs were told yesterday.
Oranga Tamariki chief executive Chappie Te Kani accepted the reality that residences could provide a “more stable environment” for young people, but said investments were also being made to reduce reoffending.
“Release from this environment can be daunting, and we are constantly working to ensure these young people have the right support around them upon leaving.”
His comments follow a surge in youth offending, with police saying teens are responsible for most of the ram raids plaguing businesses.
Act MP Karen Chhour said staff who worked at youth justice residences had told her some young people were afraid of being returned to their homes. So they went on to commit more crime knowing that they would be returned to one of the five residences, which can hold up to 155 young offenders.
“Kids are going back into the same environment they’ve arrived from ... and then because [the residences are] a safe place, some of them are actually trying to get themselves back in there and committing crimes to get themselves back in there,” she told the Herald.
“They know that somebody cares about them, they have these people who are invested in them and then they’re going back home where they know it’s not going to be the same, they don’t have the same support network and some of them are actually frightened of going back home.”
Minister for Children Kelvin Davis told the Herald he wasn’t aware of the issue and would have to consult officials to establish its prevalence. However, he did acknowledge its gravity.
“That youth justice residences are better places than family homes, that is concerning.”
Minister for Children Kelvin Davis. Photo / Mark Mitchell
However, youth/rangatahi advocate Aaron Hendry, a youth worker for more than a decade, confirmed he had heard of young offenders pushing to return to residences - not because they enjoyed them, but because it’s what they needed to do to survive.
“I think [it’s] a real indictment on the system that we have a situation where some people - to get a roof over their head, to get food in their stomach - have to be in the justice system rather than having the support that we need out here in the community.
“What I hear from young people is residences aren’t necessarily where they want to be, however, what we often see and what we often hear is that they feel pretty isolated in the community,” he said.
Some young people lacked support upon their release.
“They’re really struggling in terms of experiencing poverty, living in spaces which are really unsafe, not having enough to eat or survive, feeling like crime is the only way that they’re going to be able to survive, that at least in a residence they are getting fed and looked after.”
Hendry knew of a teenager who had been managed by the justice system for much of his life, was released into the community with insufficient support and went on to reoffend within days.
Chhour’s account from youth residence staff was referenced by Act colleague Nicole McKee at Parliament’s justice select committee yesterday while she questioned Te Kani.
McKee mentioned young people were reoffending to return to the residences, to which Te Kani replied “correct”.
Youth worker Aaron Hendry says he's aware of anecdotal reports of young offenders wanting to go back to youth prison. Photo / Dean Purcell
In a statement, Te Kani said focusing on wellbeing and addressing underlying causes of offending was an effective strategy for young offenders.
“There is strong evidence that alcohol or drug treatment, cognitive behavioural therapy, and restorative justice are all effective in reducing crime,” he said.
“Oranga Tamariki actively invests in programmes to reduce reoffending. We know that programmes and sentences that divert young adults away from penal responses will reduce the risk of extending the offending careers that may occur with exposure to the justice system.”
Children’s Commissioner Judge Frances Eivers, a fervent critic of residences, said: “They are like prison so people do their best to look after them but it’s meant to be a brief stay.”
