National tough on youth crime

National is looking at bringing back "longer-stay residential care" for wayward youths, but party leader Bill English says that does not mean a return to borstals.

Releasing his party's youth justice policy yesterday, Mr English said a National government would lower the age of criminal responsibility from 14 to 12.

The party saw merit in a recommendation by former Principal Youth Court Judge David Carruthers that there be longer-stay residential care for younger people.

"We're interested in that; we want to have a good look at it," Mr English said. "We have had some advice that there are better programmes for dealing with young people in place.

"There is a view that you can only successfully change their behaviour within their own family, their own community, their own school.

"It's not a settled issue, but the residential care option looks attractive."

But Mr English stopped short of saying borstals would return.

"I think borstal is a pretty old-fashioned word - I imagine a modern situation where younger people are getting the education and the life skills they need to get them on the right track," he said.

"If it's not doing that, then it's not going to work."

National was focused on keeping young people on track, not simply hitting them with heavier punishments.

"The approach for young people has to be different, because we don't believe we can give up on them. Tougher sentencing is not an answer."

Serious offending by children aged 12 and 13 - too young to be covered by the Youth Court - had increased sharply in the past two years, Mr English said.

Young offenders would be prevented from falling into a life of crime through early intervention by the courts and the police youth aid staff. National would expand restorative justice programmes and make parents more accountable for their children's actions, he said.

Mr English gave no details about how much enforcing the policy would cost.

Lowering the age at which children had to account for their actions in court was "a common sense approach to responsibility", he said.

In Australian states the age of criminal responsibility ranged from 7 to 10, in Britain the age was 10 and in Canada, 12.

The Youth Court would also be given more power "to make parents accountable where appropriate for the actions of their children" - including the power to impose curfews and alcohol bans.

National would also review alcohol problems and offending associated with young people, and help people with serious drug and alcohol problems to get jobs.

- NZPA