Stuff asked the following question
Teens are running amok on crime sprees and military-style boot camps for young offenders are back on the political agenda.
But boot camps have been promised many times before - and failed. A 2012 report found more than 50% of those sent to camps reoffended. So what is the real answer for stopping teens turning to crime?
Stuart Smith
National MP
Kaikoura
Below is Stuart Smith’s response.
There is little doubt that New Zealand is experiencing a monumental crime wave right across the country. Almost every day there are headlines centred around ram-raids, shootings, hit and runs and gang-related incidents which are causing distress and anxiousness for Kiwis.
Over the last five years, violent crime has risen by 21 per cent, gang membership has increased by 50 per cent and a new ram raid every 15 hours represents a staggering 500 per cent increase.
Even more tragic – there has been a developing trend that young people, some as young as 10, have been the perpetrators of such crimes.
That is why last week National proposed a plan to combat youth offending.
We would establish a Young Serious Offender (YSO) category which targets those aged 10 to 17 who have committed a serious offense, like a ram-raid, on more than one occasion.
We would set up young offender military academies where YSOs aged 15 to 17 can be sent to be rehabilitated.
These academies would be run by the New Zealand Defence Force in unison with community providers, iwi as required and wraparound services to help troubled youth learn self-discipline and develop into upstanding citizens.
This wouldn’t apply to all young offenders, because our youth justice system works well for the majority. Eighty per cent of first-time offenders who interact with the youth justice system are dealt with quickly and put back on the right path.
But those who fall outside that category and repeatedly offend need further direction and rehabilitation to set themselves up for a life they and their families can be proud of.
The government have been quick to tell us that this new policy will not work, and it will fail.
But I can guarantee that setting up these academies and creating an environment where troubled youth can learn how to interact in society appropriately is far better than doing nothing and letting 16-year-olds ram through shop windows every night.
We must not sit on our hands. A soft-on-crime approach means that more shop owners and bystanders will be victims of the crime wave.
The government need to show some leadership, recognise that we are coming close to having a crime epidemic and use the tools that National has suggested to bring rights back to victims and lower the crime rates in this country. Failure to do so will see more of these tragic stories and sadly more victims of youth crime.