The Labour Government is implementing changes to the justice system to tackle youth and gang crime.
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins revealed the new policy in Wellington with Police Minister Ginny Andersen on July 17.
It includes making it an aggravating factor for an adult to use young people to commit a crime, a new aggravated sentence for posting footage of crimes online, requiring young offenders to attend education programmes or community activities, and adding 78 more police prosecutors.
Hipkins says the Government is taking steps to crack down on an increase in brazen criminal offending, with a stronger multi-pronged approach that increases accountability, gives police more tools and beefs up programmes to break the cycle of crime.
“The first of these changes is a crackdown on people who commission or reward children and young people to offend.
“We’re told many ram-raids are done for notoriety on social media and the news or petty theft, but we know there’s also a planned or organised crime element to some of them.
“Using a child to commit a crime is cowardly, exploitative and destroys lives, so the consequences must be serious.
“The Government is creating a new aggravating factor that would apply when an adult, whether or not connected to an organised crime group, aids, encourages or incites a person under 18 to carry out an offence.”
Hipkins says posting offending behaviour online will become an aggravating factor in sentencing.
“It’s becoming increasingly common for offenders to video their criminal behaviour and post or livestream it to show off to their friends and followers.
“This ‘social media amendment’ we’re introducing will apply to adults and young people and provide the courts with an additional consideration when sentencing, and it sends a strong signal that this behaviour is unacceptable.”
He says the Government is introducing greater accountability back to people and communities impacted by crime.
“For offending by children and young people from the age of 10, the Family Court will be given the ability to require, not request, as it does now, offenders to undertake community activities, such as cleaning graffiti and picking up rubbish.
“The Family Court will also be able to require that an offender attend an educational, recreational or activity programme.”
Hipkins says victims will be entitled to attend care and protection family group conferences for the first time in relation to children over 10, which will force offenders to confront their victims.
Since new powers for police were introduced to combat gang activity it’s seen good results, most recently in Opotiki last month, with 26 vehicles searched, four guns seized and nine arrests, he says.
“Forty thousand charges have also been laid against gang members as part of police’s Operation Cobalt drive against organised crime, which was funded by this Government.
“But the gangs need to hear the message that they cannot act with impunity. The balance has shifted.”
Andersen says the Government is also backing the police to pursue criminal offending through the courts by boosting the prosecution service with an additional $26m to help clear the case backlog in district courts.
“This funding will allow police to add up to 78 full time equivalent staff to prepare their in-court work against those who’ve committed serious crimes.”
It was revealed earlier this year the number of Kiwis who reported being the victim of crime has risen 46 per cent since 2017.
Police data showed victimisations increased from 241,000 in 2017 to 350,000 last year.
Serious assaults resulting in injury rose from 9800 in 2017 to 23,000 last year, a 140 per cent increase.
Ram-raids have increased by 551 per cent since 2018, with 886 such incidents reported in 2022.
