Youth crime reduction causes reset of Govt targets

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The Government has reset its target for youth crime reduction because offending by young people has dropped significantly since the goal was set.

The justice sector's initial Better Public Services target was to reduce youth crime by 5 per cent by 2017.

Justice Minister Judith Collins said today that target had been exceeded - between June 2011 and June 2013, youth crime dropped by 19 per cent.

"Huge effort has gone into targeting youth offending and keeping young people from going before the courts, and it's paying off," Ms Collins says.

The target would be changed to a 25 per cent reduction by 2017.

The sector's other targets would remain the same - a 15 per cent reduction in overall crime, a 20 per cent reduction in violent crime and a 25 per cent reduction in re-offending by 2017.

Statistics New Zealand figures showed conviction rates in the Youth Court were at their lowest point since records began in 1992.

These figures did not reflect all offending by young people, because most young offenders were not charged and were given alternative penalties.

But Ministry of Justice figures supported the downwards trend in youth offending. Research showed that police apprehensions of people aged 10 to 16 were at a 10-year low.