Getting smart on youth crime
An increase in ram raids has encouraged a belief that youth crime is out of control but is it?
Mōrena and welcome to The Bulletin for Monday, May 2, by Anna Rawhiti-Connell. Presented in partnership with Z Energy.
In today’s edition: a buyer’s market; international visitors welcomed; National’s by-election candidate; but first, ram raids and youth crime.
Assistant Police Commissioner Richard Chambers (Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone)
Do ram raids point to rising youth crime rates?
It’s been impossible to read the news recently without encountering a story about ram raids. I got eight pages into a Google news search and still hadn’t hit the end of coverage. It can lead to an assumption that youth crime rates are rising. Stuff’s Katie Doyle took a look at that question and found that they’re not. Overall, youth crime rates are down 63-65% between 2010/11 and 2020/21. But the police have said those involved in ram raids are under 20 and youth advocates are concerned. Jack Tame spoke to one of the authors of a report on youth offenders, clinical psychologist Ian Lambie, on Q&A on Sunday.
The risk of moral panic amid calls for a punitive approach
Tame asked Lambie whether there was risk of a “moral panic” around ram raids, resulting in calls for a punitive approach. Lambie said yes. During a panel discussion on The Nation on Saturday, executive producer of The Hui Annabelle Lee-Mather said “It's important that we don't over blow it into this huge community issue when actually there's plenty more rangatahi in our communities doing awesome mahi.” Youth workers have cautioned against a punitive approach saying these kids are living in poverty and often have fetal alcohol spectrum disorders and other disabilities. Police minister Poto Williams said it requires a “whole of society” approach after the children’s commissioner called on the government to intervene.
We’re not “soft on crime”, but we need to be smart on crime
National party police spokesperson Mark Mitchell said the ram raids are due to the government being “soft on crime”. Lambie disagreed in his Q&A interview saying we’re not soft on crime but that we need to get smart on crime. Christopher Luxon addressed his party’s Canterbury Westland regional conference on Saturday. When asked about his approach to the problem, he laid out a three-step plan that included police reviewing its pursuit policy and a gang task force. He also drew a line between truancy and youth violence. Oranga Tamariki confirmed that most involved in ram raids are not attending school.
Truancy plan launched in pre-budget announcement
In a pre-budget announcement on Sunday afternoon, education minister Chris Hipkins announced a $88m commitment to reduce truancy rates. Figures from term two this year show 40% of kids aren’t attending school regularly, up 10% on 2015. An inquiry into school attendance was launched in July last year and the report from the education and work committee was released in March. The report recommended that the government develop a school attendance strategy and set targets for regular school attendance of 70% by 2024 and 75% by 2026.
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It’s a buyer’s market, says realestate.co.nz report
A new report from realestate.co.nz tracking average asking prices and housing stock says Wellington is now “a buyer’s market” as of March, and that Auckland got there in April with a 1.6% decline in average asking prices between March and April. Prices for houses in some regional areas have, however, hit a high. The average asking price in Waikato was up 41.2% compared to the same time last year. The average asking price in Auckland for a house in April was $1,234,148, still up 10.9% on this time last year. In Wellington the April asking price was $971,976, down 3% on March.
National party selects Sam Uffindell as candidate for Tauranga by-election
Uffindell has been a member of the party since 2008. National was criticised for its selection processes at the 2017 and 2020 elections and rolled out a “101” over the summer to help attract new people to candidacy for the party. ACT, Labour, New Conservative, Legalise Cannabis, Outdoors and the New Nation party are all standing candidates. No word on whether NZ First will contest the seat. Nominations close on May 17. Over the weekend, the NZ Herald reported that Simon Bridges, who’s held the Tauranga seat since 2008, is going to be the new chief executive at the Auckland Chamber of Commerce. Bridges declined to comment. He will give his valedictory speech on Wednesday.
Stuart Nash welcomes international visitors with peanut slabs
For the first time since our borders closed in March 2020, vaccinated people from over 60 visa-waiver countries can travel here without isolating. The first flights landed this morning. Reporters are at the airport to capture the heart-warming reunions. Tourism minister Stuart Nash is also there. He is wearing a T-shirt and gripping peanut slabs which are being given to those arriving. Air NZ and the government also launched a trial of a new covid-19 test that could be used for border staff and international visitors. Known as a LAMP test, it combines the speed of RATs (rapid antigen tests) with the accuracy of PCR testing.
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Canoeist Aimee Fisher goes her own way
Stuff’s Dana Johannsen takes a closer look at the race series between Dame Lisa Carrington and Aimee Fisher last week. Nearly two years ago, Fisher left the national squad and has been training on her own, away from Canoe NZ and High Performance Sport NZ. Fisher stepped away, believing Canoe Racing NZ’s high performance environment to be unsafe. She declined to be selected for the Tokyo Olympics team. Johannsen says Fisher has offered a real-time demonstration of how things can be done differently.
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As an oldie, I'm disappointed at the lack of coverage of Covid-19 in the elderly. It's well established that immune response, including effectiveness of vaccination, declines in later years of life. It's also clear that, regardless of vaccination status, older age groups dominate mortality from Covid-19. Yet Pharmac's covid response team doesn’t include a single gerontologist, and their criteria for the newer, more effectivetreatments for Covid-19 exclude most seniors. And you report each development regarding children or minority groups, but say nothing about care homes.
Shame. I donated once. Not again unless you begin covering the group that is worst affected