Chief Children’s Commissioner says boot camp programme hasn’t failed despite youth escape

Chief Children’s Commissioner Dr Claire Achmad during her submission on the Gangs Legislation Amendment Bill during the Justice select committee, Parliament, Wellington. 23 April, 2024. New Zealand Herald photograph by Mark Mitchell

• Two young participants from the Government’s boot camp programme were on the run, one fleeing a tangi.
• Chief Children’s Commissioner Dr Claire Achmad opposes a related Amendment Bill.
• She advocates for trauma-informed rehabilitation over military-style sentencing in youth justice.

Chief Children’s Commissioner Dr Claire Achmad does not believe the controversial government boot camp programme has failed, despite escapes by youth on the programme.

The three-stage pilot – which involves “military-style activities” and a special curriculum – launched in July and is run by Oranga Tamariki.

Achmad visited the youth offender boot camps early in the programme and saw first-hand the positive work that was being done.

“I don’t think we could say that [the programme is a failure]. The key here is that we must not give up on these mokopuna,” she told RNZ’s Checkpoint last week.

“I have been to the military-style academy pilot [at the residence component] … I spent a few hours there while the rangatahi were there.

“I saw how hard the staff there were working to put in place that multi-disciplinary support around these young people.”

Achmad said she saw how active and willing the boot camp participants from both sides were and hopes to see it continue, with some finding employment and furthering their education.

Currently, there is an Amendment Bill before Parliament that creates a framework for the Government’s new attempt at military-style academies as a panacea for youth offenders.

While Achmad is in support of the current programme in place, she does not want to see the bill passed.

“I remain concerned about the military-style academy being a sentencing option written into law, which would happen if the bill that is before Parliament right now is passed,” she said.

“The reason why I am advocating for us not to go down that pathway is I don’t want anything written into our law in Aotearoa New Zealand that could potentially introduce something that is military-style in character in our youth justice system.”

Instead, Achmad is advocating for the laws currently in place to ensure there is accountability for offending and support positive rehabilitation of rangatahi.

She said should the bill proceed, it will move us further away from a children’s rights approach to our youth justice system in Aotearoa New Zealand.

“There are alternative options that will allow us to help these young people to rehabilitate in a trauma-informed way and I’d like to see us deepening our focus on those things rather than writing this military-style academy into our law as a sentencing option,” she said.

While the current programme consisted of “military style activities”, Achmad said it did not really qualify as a “military style” approach, which she was pleased with.

“We also must remember at this time, let’s keep children and their rights above party politics. We need cross-party enduring support and commitment to ensure we are upholding the rights of these young people,” she said.