Youth Justice Stats Deserve Careful Analysis

Dr Pita Sharples; Co-leader Maori Party

Tuesday 7 August 2007

Dr Pita Sharples is calling today for careful analysis regarding the latest report on youth justice system and Maori youth offending. [Youth Justice Statistics in New Zealand 1992-2006]

“The last thing this country needs is ‘more demonising of Maori’ said Dr Sharples”.

“We have to forget about the headlines, and concentrate on giving the time to understand the causes of Maori over-representation in the youth justice system, come up with well researched facts – and then to come up with some solutions, and fast”.

“New Zealanders deserve the full facts of the youth justice stats, including that

- when population increases are considered, the apprehension rate of all young people between 1995 to 2006 has DECLINED;

- the percentage of 14 to 16 year olds apprehended who were Maori DECREASED from 1995 to 2002;

- the proportion of young people convicted in the District or High Court DECREASED from 11% in 1992 to 6% in 2003”.

“While I am not saying the stats are all good news by any means, I think we have to take a responsible approach – and ensure that the nation knows some things are working well, some progress is being made” said Dr Sharples.

“Of course the tragedy of this latest report is the atrocious state of the numbers regarding apprehensions of Maori – some 47% of 14 to 16 year old young people apprehended in 2006 are Maori. We must all be concerned that the Maori apprehension rate is twice that of our Pasifika whanaunga and nearly three times that of other New Zealanders”.

“In my search for understanding the issues behind these figures, I went back to a paper by Judge Becroft in 2005” said Sharples.

“Judge Becroft’s paper on Maori Youth offending drew on research that concluded that Maori were more likely to receive ‘severe outcomes’ because of “increased vigilance” by the public and the police with regard to Maori youth”.

"Former Police Commissioner Peter Doone came up with similar findings in his report of 2000, so little had changed in the exercise of bias in six years" added Dr Sharples.

“The Principal Youth Court Judge (Becroft) also suggested that Maori youth are more likely to be dealt with in the Youth Court (and consequently receive more severe sentences) than by Family Group Conference. Judge Becroft concluded “this raises the question of whether our legal system demonstrates a “systemic bias” against Maori young people”’ said Dr Sharples.

“These are very serious questions – and they have been asked many times before” said Dr Sharples. “Rather than rely on the ‘let’s get out a sharper stick, a longer stick, a harsher stick’ approach; we need to take a deep breath, and really start to understand the causes and effects of youth offending’.

“And if we are really concerned about the future our young people are growing into, we must make sure that the programmes are in place, to effectively address the long-standing issues that will reveal themselves in yet another negative report”.

Increase in Violent offending a Major Concern to Maori Party

“We, in the Maori Party, are particularly alarmed that the numbers of young and adult New Zealanders apprehended for violent offences have increased so markedly over the period 1995 to 2006” said Sharples.

The number of youth apprehensions for violent offences increased from 2,690 to 3,743 (an overall increase of 39%), while for adults they increased from 25,375 to 31,010 (an overall increase of 22%).

“When is Enough, Enough?” asked Dr Sharples. “How many more horrific crimes do we need to hear about, before we all start taking the action to make Aotearoa Violence Free”.

Background Research

- The Ministry of Social Development Research referred to by Justice Becroft was published in February 2004 ; ‘Achieving Effective outcomes in Youth Justice, an overview of findings’: Maxwell, Robertson, Kingi, Morris and Cunningham.

- Maori Youth Offending; His Honour Judge A J Becroft, Principal Youth Court Judge, 8-10 November 2005, Nelson

- ‘Whanake Rangatahi’: Programmes and Services to address Maori Youth offending (Te Puni Kokiri) describe key factors which are effective for Maori :

- “take a holistic approach,

- involve whanau and incorporate tikanga and whaungangatanga;

- are tailored to the needs of individuals and their whanau;

- and enhance cultural pride and knowledge of ancestry”.

- The 2000 Report on Combating and Preventing Maori Crime, Hei Whakarurutanga Mö Te Ao, produced by former Police Commissioner Peter Doone highlights the fact that Maori are over-represented at every stage of the criminal justice process. The report concludes that Maori are over three times more likely to be apprehended for a criminal offence than non-Maori and make up 51% of the prison population while being only 14% of the general population. However, that report also states that ethnicity itself is not a factor causing crime. The cause lies in Maori being over-represented in the social risk factors that contribute to criminal behaviour. Programmes effective in changing the behaviour of offenders or potential offenders need to address the risk factors. They need to do this in a way that is relevant to how the offender sees him or herself.

ENDS

© Scoop Media