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Home / New Zealand

Budget 2017: Millions to be spent to try to cut burglary and youth offending

Nicholas Jones
By Nicholas Jones
Investigative Reporter·NZ Herald·
25 May, 2017 02:17 AM5 mins to read

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KEY POINTS:

  • New service to try and reduce burglars' motivation to offend, and help victims put in extra security
  • More than $1 billion over four years to build new prisons and prison beds
  • Court security to be boosted, and radical Iwi Justice Panels continued

Almost $47 million will be spent on new services to try to cut burglary and youth offending.

Repeat victims will get support to install extra security such as window locks, security lights and bolt locks.

Budget 2017 also sets aside more than $1 billion over four years to help cope with the country's booming prison population.

• Burglary and youth offending

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As part of the Government's "social investment" package, $32.9 million over four years will be spent on burglary prevention, including working with offenders to reduce their motivation to commit the crime, and better support for victims.

The initiative will target offenders under the age of 25, with yearly spending hitting $13.5m by 2020/21.

Justice Minister Amy Adams said young burglars had a higher risk of committing more crime over the long-term, with a predicted 15,300 more burglaries and other offences over the next 30 years.

"The main focus of the initiative is on reducing the motivation to commit burglary and increasing the availability of reintegration services to better transition offenders from prison," Adams said. She said repeat victims would get support to put in security like window locks.

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An extra $13.9m over four years with try and cut youth offending through professional youth mentoring, cognitive behaviour therapy and family therapy.

The National Government has taken significant heat over burglary resolution rates that dropped below 10 per cent, with the Herald running a series of articles highlighting the issue.

The Children's Commissioner "hailed" more funding for independent monitoring and said it was a significant step forward for children in the care and protection and youth justice systems.

Judge Andrew Becroft said the Government's increase will help cover up to 6.4 fulltime staff positions for the 2017/18 year.

"We identified the need for increased monitoring and inspections in our recent State of Care 2017 report. It is very reassuring that this call has been heeded," he said.

Becroft said recruitment will begin very shortly for the additional roles.

"This will help us better serve the 5200 children currently in care and in youth justice residences, to help ensure that they are secure, safe and thriving."

• Prison population

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Budget 2017 allocates $255.9m in operating funding and $763.3m in capital funding over four years to increase prison capacity and upgrade infrastructure.

The prison population passed 10,000 inmates last year, with the Government planning on spending billions on new prisons including at Waikeria and looking at double-bunking and reopening closed wings.

• Prisoner rehabilitation and community sentences

An extra $81.8m of new operating funding over four years will go towards managing offenders serving sentences in the community and prisoner rehabilitation.

Corrections Minister Louise Upston said the new funding would help manage a growing number of offenders on community sentences, and support the Parole Board and judiciary to decide who should get such a sentence and what conditions should be imposed. The high prison population would result in more demand in future.

"Probation officers use higher intensity forms of managing offenders...as well, many offenders have mental health and substance dependency issues."

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Just over $30m over four years will go on prisoner rehabilitation, allowing Corrections to expand four intervention groups - education, alcohol and drug treatments, programmes for violent offending, and reintegration support.

In addition, $30.2m over four years will help improve the way prisoners at risk of self-harm and suicide are managed in prison.

Prison abolitionist organisation No Pride in Prisons said the Budget "prioritises appearing tough on crime over keeping people safe".

"The more than $1 billion spent on prisons is an insult to the thousands of people living in poverty in this country, as well as the more than 10,000 people in prison today," spokesperson Emilie Rakete said.

"Research consistently shows that prisons not only fail to reduce harmful behaviour, but actually make people more violent and more likely to harm others.

"Pumping money into the prison system is simply throwing money away."

The organisation was critical of the $252m in new capital expenditure, on top of a further $1.5b on new prison construction in years ahead.

"The Government has prioritised locking up more people in prison over the education of our young people. Instead of investing meaningfully in housing, education, and healthcare, the Government is allowing the causes of crime to worsen," Rakete said.

• Courts

Court security staff will be increased using just under $12m over four years.

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And the Iwi/Community Panel pilot will continue with new funding of $5.5m over four years.

Three pilot panels - also known as marae justice panels - have been running in Manukau, Gisborne and Lower Hutt since July 2014, and allow participants to avoid court and criminal convictions for low-level offences.

Police steer some low-level offenders to the panels instead of court. Offenders must be adults, must admit guilt or admit the offence, and the offence must carry a maximum penalty of six months' imprisonment or less.

• Serious Fraud Office

Gets an extra $1.4m in operating funding and $840,000 in capital for an integrated case and evidence management system.

Budget 2017 also includes a $503m package to boost police officer numbers by 880 over four years, which was announced by Prime Minister Bill English in February.

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Documents related to that policy reveal growing "traditional" demand in areas such as family violence has put pressure on police and meant emerging threats such as cyber-crime have at times gone un-policed. Less than 5 per cent of fraud cases referred from the banking sector were investigated by police, the documents showed.

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