Media Statement - Principal Youth Court Judge Says The Picture Of Youth Offending Is Distorted By Inadequate Statistics

19 APRIL 2002

Judge Andrew Becroft, the Principal Youth Court Judge, says recent public discussion about youth offending has been based on some misleading and incomplete statistics.

"A more complete analysis of the range of statistics that are available shows that the popular belief that youth offending is rapidly increasing and is out of control is not accurate."

"Offending by under 17 year olds has not increased at any greater rate than adult offending in the last decade, and in some areas of New Zealand is decreasing. Debate about increasing youth crime should take place in the context that total reported crime increased over the same period."

Judge Becroft says there is a need for a more "scientific" approach to compiling statistics on youth offending. He says the reliance on selective statistics is producing a distorted picture that exaggerates trends in youth offending.

"There is no centralised collection of statistics and trends about youth offending and what we do know comes from a comparison of inter-departmental figures. Data collection has been unsatisfactory and there is a need for one agency to take a clear leadership role in this respect."

Judge Becroft says recent Police statistics relied upon by the media can be misleading.

"Police statistics are based on ‘apprehensions’, which are offence no offender based. Also, an increase in apprehensions does not necessarily mean that offending has increased. They may not be a reliable indicator of true youth offending."

Judge Becroft says what we can assume on available data is that:

1. Offending by under 17 year olds has remained at around 22% of total offending over the last 10-12 years.
2. The increase in youth offending has slowed in the last 5 years, and there have been decreases in some areas.
3. Violent offending by youth offenders accounts for only about 9-10% of offences and has done so since 1994. Violent offending significantly increased in the first part of the 1990’s but has been quite stable in the second part of the decade.
4. Charges in the Youth Court have increased over the last 10 years but have remained more stable in recent years and dropped last year. Recent claims that the workload of the Youth Court has tripled are wrong.
5. Nearly 80% of youth offences are dealt with by Police by ‘alternative action’ through a diversionary approach and do not result in a Youth Court appearance. Only the most serious offending comes to the Youth Court.
6. There are huge regional variations in youth offending throughout New Zealand. Where government departments work well in partnership with local communities there have been significant reductions in youth offending.

Judge Becroft says offending by young people should always be taken seriously, and the increases in the last 10 years should be of concern to our community. He says many, but by no means all, young offenders are tomorrow’s adult criminals.

"A young person who offends should be held accountable, must make amends to the victim wherever possible, and be dealt with so that the risk of re-offending is reduced as far as possible."

"However it is important that in the debate the real position, as best we know it, is made clear so that sensible and informed discussion can take place."

Inquiries: Neil Billington, Senior Judicial Communications Adviser

(04) 914-3673 (027)-233-7825