Annette King
Labour Deputy Leader
20 July 2011

Boot camps not working

The chickens have come home to roost with a Government report today acknowledging its much-vaunted youth camps have failed abysmally, Labour’s Deputy Leader Annette King says.

“Paula Bennett’s admission that only two of 17 young offenders sent to its military-style ‘activity camps’ have not reoffended are an affirmation of what Labour has said all along – that boot camps don’t work, that they are a waste of money and that they do little to tackle the real issues.

“This report gives the lie to a statement John Key made in the House recently that boot camps “do work”. Boot camps have been discredited internationally. Even the Government's chief science adviser, Sir Peter Gluckman, says it is unclear whether they work,” Annette King said.

“Despite expert advice the Government ploughed ahead with this failed concept. Reports from the 1990s prove that boots camps are one of the most ineffective deterrent programmes in the justice sector, and only make young offenders fitter and faster.

“Just yesterday we had Paula Bennett telling us there was evidence the Government’s youth programmes are making a difference. It’s time to call a halt to this absurdity and to stop wasting resources on this failed programme.

“The many millions of dollars it has sunk into boot camps would be much better spent investing in making sure that our children get the best possible start in life. Investing in the first five years of a child’s life leads to a better future, and to better jobs, better health and less interaction with the criminal justice system.

“The Government needs to admit that it has got it wrong on boot camps,” Annette King said.

ENDS

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