The government has launched a pilot unit for its controversial military-style boot camps for “the most persistent young offenders” in Palmerston North today.
Children’s Minister Karen Chhour hosted a media walk-through of the unit at Oranga Tamariki’s Te Au rere a te Tonga youth justice residence in the Manawatū this morning.
The Oranga Tamariki-run pilot, set to begin on 29 July, has ten boys under its charge, aged 15 to 18 years old.
Chhour said today in a release that the first three months they will focus on structure and routine, addressing criminal behaviours, physical activities, education and vocational training, preparation for work and finding employment, and specific rehabilitative, therapeutic and cultural components required for each young person.
“The Pilot is underpinned by intensive case management for each young person, who will have a consistent mentor throughout,” she said.
“Following the residential component, the nine-month stage of the programme will be focused on supporting the young person to transition back into the community. Whānau will be engaged where possible for the full 12 months of the programme.
“There is no ‘one size fits all’ solution to youth offending. The Military Style Academy Pilot is just one tool we can use to support youth people to turn their lives around and get back on track.”
Chhour said the pilot was different to what had been done previously.
“The key difference from what we’ve done before in these types of programmes is that most of the time will be spent focusing on transition back to the community, making sure these young people are well set up for the future including a pathway into education, training or employment and working with the families of the young people.
“Oranga Tamariki has worked closely with the New Zealand Defence Force, the Ministry of Justice, New Zealand Police and other community groups to design the pilot.
“This pilot will help both address the offending behaviour of the young people and ensure they are held accountable, and face up to, their actions. This is an important part of our plan to address youth crime rates so that New Zealanders feel safe on our streets and in their communities.”
Confirming plans for the “academies” in March, Chhour said at the time that the pilot unit would help transform the lives of the rangatahi.
“It will have a military-style component as well as a rehabilitative and trauma-informed care approach to help these young people turn their lives around and reduce their risk of reoffending,” she said.
“I’m confident this programme will deliver the real change needed for many youth offenders. It will show them actually, there are consequences for their actions, but also that with a disciplined and structured environment they can turn their life around.”
The boot camps are part of the coalition government’s 100-day plan.
‘Cruel and heinous’
Opposition parties have panned the boot camps, with Labour labelling them “cruel”, the Green Party “heinous” and Te Pāti Māori saying they are a “return to the 60s and 70s”.
Last month, Labour’s children’s spokeswoman Willow-Jean Prime told NZME that the boot camps risked causing further harm to children who had already experienced abuse or deep trauma.
“Forcing these kinds of children into boot camps is cruel and takes our youth rehabilitative system backwards.
“To spend more than $5m on a pilot for 10 kids, when we’re in dire need of more youth aid officers and social workers, is simply another example of the Government making the wrong choices yet again.”
In March, 1News reported that Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson had described them as “reckless, heinous and lazy” and argued the evidence has never supported their effectiveness.
More effective than boot camps were community, youth and social services who understood the issues, she said.
Meanwhile, Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi said, “This is how gangs were created, through boot camps and borstals and boys’ homes ... they want to get rid of the gangs but I think they’re going to create them,” the 1News report said.