Martin Kaipo, chief executive of the Te Hau Āwhiowhio ō Ōtangarei Trust, says the Government should look at stopping truancy to keep young people away from criminal activity. Photo / Tania Whyte
Martin Kaipo, chief executive of the Te Hau Āwhiowhio ō Ōtangarei Trust, says the Government should look at stopping truancy to keep young people away from criminal activity. Photo / Tania Whyte
Northlanders who work with troubled youth are sceptical about whether the money given to police in the Budget will help reduce crime.
Martin Kaipo, chief executive of the Te Hau Āwhiowhio ō Ōtangarei Trust, said there wasn't one reason young people got involved in criminal activity, so there wasn't onesolution.
"There's a whole heap of factors that have affected the way young people are behaving."
He said stopping truancy would help cut youth crime, as would expanding programmes such as Blue Light.
Many of these activities have been on hold due to Covid, Kaipo said, and needed to be reinstated.
"The Budget gives people a whole lot of money, and they're not always going to do anything constructive with it," he added.
Anthony Warren, who runs Te Mira (The Mill) boxing gym where he works with troubled youth, said there was no magic bullet to stop people becoming criminals.
"I've been 12 years in Kaikohe in my boxing gym, and if you've saved a couple you just have to pat yourself on the back and keep going."
Anthony Warren, of Te Mira (The Mill) boxing gym in Kaikohe, says if there is a magic bullet to stopping young people from getting into crime, he hasn't found it yet. Photo / NZME
An increase in forestry jobs has been good for the town, Warren said, but kids not returning to school after Covid lockdowns had also been a problem recently.
However, Kaikohe had not been affected by the ram raids that have taken place in other parts of the country recently, he added.
"This ram raid stuff, we had that about two or three years ago, but touch wood, we haven't had that anymore."
The perpetrators were easily identified in the small town, Warren said.
He said he suspected smaller gangs, made up of mostly teenagers, were behind ram raids in other regions.
"It'll be one of the gangs, but it's not one of the main gangs."
The Government announced an extra $94 million to tackle gangs and organised crime, $198.3m for rehabilitation programmes and funding for more Corrections staff prior to Budget day.
The Government also announced a new firearms unit within police, training for more police officers to AOS standard and an additional 1800 police officers by the end of the year.
Extra funding has also been set aside to ensure police match population growth, ensuring there is at least one police officer for every 480 people.
Northland currently meets this requirement, with more than 400 police officers in the region.
Police Minister Poto Williams and Justice Minister Kris Faafoi. Photo / NZME
Justice Minister Kris Faafoi acknowledged in a statement there had been increases in gun crime, gang activity and some forms of youth offending recently.
"Our response needs to address the root causes of crime, especially when it relates to young people, provide more rehabilitation to reduce reoffending, and actively pursue and prosecute those who participate in illegal gang activity," Faafoi said.
There was no finer detail on where the money allocated to tackle gangs would go, but Police Minister Poto Williams said the Government wanted to address social issues as well as enforcement.
"In this Budget we are investing $94m into tackling gangs and organised crime with strong enforcement being essential whilst at the same time working with communities to address the social factors that lead to people joining gangs in the first place."
Funding has also been announced for businesses to help protect themselves from ram raiders, but no further details were given.
Money for police and Corrections
• $94.5m to tackle gangs and organised crime • $198.3 for rehabilitation programmes and funding for 518 extra Corrections staff to support rehabilitation • $208m for the firearms register • $8m to provide additional referrals for rangitahi who have experienced family harm • $12.3m to better support victims of serious crime • Funding to support businesses to protect themselves from ram raiders • $164.6m in operating and $20.7m to improve safety of frontline police • $24.7m to enhance cybercrime capabilities of police
