The truth on youth crime
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"Xtra News" Annema...@nospam.annemariebutler.com
The truth on youth crime 01 November 2005 As public alarm mounts over youth crime, the man charged with tackling our juvenile criminals suggests the problems - and answers - may not be as black and white as they seem. Anna Claridge reports.
Principal Youth Court Judge Andrew Becroft relaxes back in his chair as he attempts to set the record straight.
"Youth crime is not sky-rocketing," he says.
"The belief that it could be is understandable because there are a few tragic black spots of offending that capture media headlines. They are rightly shocking, but they tend to twist what's actually happening." Changing public perception, however, is no easy task; especially this week when headlines scream youth crime and the streets of South Auckland are, according to police, awash with 1000 youth gang members.
Add to this the Wellington police investigation of youth gang extortion in schools, and youth gang attacks in Christchurch, and you have a seemingly grim picture.
But here is Becroft, at the helm of youth justice, saying all is not as dire as it appears.
So, what is the true story on youth offending?
Andrew Becroft looks younger than his 47 years. He is polite, gentle and smiles a lot.
Before conversation even begins, he confesses to a speech impediment - a stutter. It has plagued him since childhood to the extent that his mother wrote the Friday night fish-and-chip order on notepaper because he was unable to get the words out under pressure at the counter.
Now a judicial appointee and head of youth justice, he credits the stutter with teaching him his most valuable lesson in dealing with troubled youth -
everyone struggles with something.
Indeed, in Youth Court, he sees struggles every day: from the young murderer who, as a toddler, was tied to a clothesline and beaten by his father, to those deprived of male role models who seek out gang leaders for positive reinforcement.
Becroft's work in youth courts around the country (he sits in every youth court at least once a year) can move from the harrowing to heartening in an instant.
"But I try hard to keep a sense of optimism. I wouldn't be in the job if I didn't think we could make a difference." Four years into his role, he is as well qualified as anyone to ***ess the state of youth offending in New Zealand.
And despite mounting public pressure for answers, Becroft won't concede that youth crime is a growing problem.
It's tough, he says, when the public believes the system is constantly failing. It's particularly galling when crime figures show youth offending is actually decreasing.
"Every generation looks back on a golden age of the past when youth offending seemed under control," he says. "But when you look at the newspapers there were headlines in 1886 deeply concerned about young people out of control and roaming the streets, or parents not taking enough control over their children.
"Every community takes offending seriously and every generation worries because, trite as it may be, those young people are tomorrow's future.
That's probably why youth offending captures public interest ... but contrary to popular belief, it's not skyrocketing." Police statistics show total youth crime has remained steady at 21 per cent of all offending for the past five years after an unexplained surge between 1990 and 1995.
Total police apprehensions of young people aged 14 to 16 have dropped from 32,963 in 1995 to 29,944 in 2004. In the 13-and-younger age group, total apprehensions have dropped from 13,016 in 1995 to 9951 in 2004. But the sweet success of an overall decrease has been soured by a jump in violent crime.
Over the past 10 years, violent crime has increased in every age group but most notably with 14 to 16-year-olds, where the number apprehended for violent crimes has jumped from 3306 in 1995 to 4112 in 2004.
No-one knows what is behind that increase. Some suggest the lowered drinking age, others a generation brought up on violent video games. But a lack of research in New Zealand means there is no concrete evidence to support any theory.
For 80% of youth offenders, their crime will mean a visit to police youth aid and a warning. They are unlikely to reoffend.
The remaining 20% are referred to the Youth Court.
It is a sobering experience for most. Becroft says the typical court scenario has a mother, in tears as her son is about to be sentenced, saying: "I've done everything I can, please help." Ministry of Justice figures show that more than 15,000 charges were processed by the Youth Court last year, a slight increase on the 13,400 processed in 2002.
It is the top tier of those youth court accused - about 1500 youths nationally - that Becroft says the public should be concerned about.
Becroft left his job at a Queen Street law firm and co-founded the Mangere Community Law Centre in South Auckland, in 1986.
It's the heart of what is now being described as a troubled gangland, and Becroft knows it was the best preparation for his Youth Court role that he could have hoped for.
"It opened my eyes to a part of New Zealand I had never seen before. I did see a part of life where there is real disadvantage and real struggle. Where lawyers were needed most, they were least present." That part of New Zealand where truancy is rife and children as young as 10 gravitate to gangs has become the daily fodder of the Youth Court.
By the time young offenders reach court, says Becroft, they can easily be split into two distinct groups: life-time offenders and the adolescent-limited offenders.
At least 90% of youth offenders fall into the cl*** of adolescent-limited offenders - teenagers experimenting and pushing boundaries, or as Becroft puts it, "making bad mistakes and doing dumb things".
The offences range from theft (60% of offending is property theft under $100) to disorderly behaviour and minor ***aults (bullying).
The remaining 10% of "hardcore, problematic and troubled" youth criminals are persistent life-course offenders.
This is the group that snatch headlines - such as 12-year-old Bailey Junior Kurariki, convicted for his part in the murder of pizza delivery man Michael Choy.
They are easily identified (many researchers say they can be spotted in pre-school) and display glaringly similar characteristics.
They are mostly male (85%), have a drug or alcohol problem (80%), are not in school (70%), come from disadvantaged backgrounds and have psychological or behavioural difficulties. At least 50% are Maori.
"That group are short of drug and alcohol services and help for severely behaviourally challenged people," says Becroft. "Unfortunately youth mental-health and youth psychological services are marginalised by district health boards. You can understand why because a replacement heart takes priority when funds are scarce." This group is also lacking in education. At least 30% of youth crime is committed between the hours of 9am and 3pm, and Becroft says a key to reducing youth offending is stopping truancy.
He is critical of the Ministry of Education's lack of resolve in dealing with the 2000-3000 truants in New Zealand and says a concerted effort to get youths back to school would reduce youth offending dramatically.
"You could go as far to say each kid kept in school is a potential career criminal stopped in his tracks. Other than eliminating the Y chromosome from the gene pool, which I say tongue-in-cheek, I think the most effective thing we could do would be to engage all our young people in some form of education.
"This hardcore group will not easily be accommodated in secondary schools but we need an effective alternative education system, an effective alternative option." Becroft also backs early intervention, and advocates a compulsory "basic needs ***essment" after a child is born and on their fifth birthday.
It's a common theme and one touted by several non-government organisations, including the Christchurch-based Family Help Trust.
The trust's clinical services manager, Bill Pringle, says intervention, rather than punishment, would cut youth crime.
"Ongoing generational dysfunction, spawning more crime, violence and abuse, is the result of intervention not happening or happening too late," Pringle says.
Steve Christian, police national manager of youth services, agrees and says that far from being in disarray, the youth justice system can work. Police are urging the community - churches, schools, sports teams - to get involved and support at-risk youth.
"There is no magic bullet," Christian says, but community involvement is key.
Becroft says resources need to be poured into the facilities and services that have been eroded over the past 10 years and which specialise in dealing with "hardcore offenders".
"We know what works and we know what doesn't work. Family-based programmes using the school, and attacking the drug, alcohol and psychological issues, work," he says.
"Scared straight - prison - doesn't work because the group that are really scared don't get sent there, and the group that should be scared sometimes see it as no more than a field trip to visit family and friends." Becroft says the youth court is the "ultimate ambulance at the bottom of the cliff" and a change in youth offending statistics will only happen when the community owns the problem.
"Not many offenders elect to be bad. Most have a collection of profound disadvantages.
"It's clear what the issues are; we just need to tackle them head-on.
"Judges won't shrink from sending people to prison but we know when it's done, all the statistics show it will increase offending.
"It's likely the person will come out a more serious offender, so whatever we can do in the community, we need to do it now. And that is a task the community must take up." Youth offending a.. Youth offending has remained stable for the last 5 years at 21 per cent ...
grumpyoldhori grumpyoldh...@gmail.com
A school,run on military prison lines,they would be kept rather busy, none of this,must have a television for each inmate.
grumpy
"David" gosn...@es.co.nz
There is nothing like a bit of public hysteria to push up the youth crime rate.
"BJay" B...@coolkiwi.com
hm Back in the 1830's Kororareka, one of the principal towns of Aotearoa was known as 'the hell hole of the Pacific' way back then booze and crime were an issue, the more things change the more they stay the same :) ...
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"Xtra News" Annema...@nospam.annemariebutler.com
Exactly - I worked in the courts early 80's. It seemed bad enough then, I remember an axe murder...
I reckon getting tougher on truancy, and the basic needs check at birth and five years would be a good start to helping though.
"David" gosn...@es.co.nz
In many cases truancy is fully justified.
Education could have been turned on its side during the revolution of 1984.
But i guess that would have traumatised even more people at once.
You can take a horse to water but you cannot make it drink.
"Xtra News" Annema...@nospam.annemariebutler.com
You are quite right. Education has to be valid for everybody and not everybody is going to be academically gifted, or even capable. Yet schools could educate for life. I have always said teach life skills, how to run a bank account. How a mortgage works. How to eat nutritious food. How to care for children.... Along with practical skills that would make these kids employable.
"David" gosn...@es.co.nz
The principle educators in my life weren't at school.
"BJay" B...@coolkiwi.com
Indeed the exception to the history of crime etc in NZ is that historically we haven't had "P' here, AND being used by kids.....
"Xtra News" Annema...@nospam.annemariebutler.com
Well you are actually dead right there, P is very worrying. It absolutely destroys lives, P uses loose all morals, feelings, and caring.
What to do about it????? Probably one of the biggest questions today.
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