Second young offender bootcamp pilot to begin as proposed law delayed

Oranga Tamariki is about to begin another bootcamp pilot, also known as a military-style academy, with legislation intended to establish ongoing bootcamps yet to reach Parliament.

The Government, informed by National and Act Party 2023 election policy, initiated a 12-month bootcamp in 2024 with the intention to rehabilitate recidivist young offenders.

That ended in July last year. Six of the 10 participants reoffended while in the programme. One participant died in a car accident.

A review of the pilot acknowledged the extent of reoffending but also noted the seriousness and frequency of offending had reduced for those in the pilot when compared with a cohort of youths who had similar supervision orders but were not part of the pilot.

It had been expected new legislation, which created a young serious offender category empowering judges to recommend a bootcamp programme for an offending youth, would be passed to enable a permanent bootcamp programme instead of a second pilot.

Children’s Minister Karen Chhour had repeatedly said she expected the legislation to reach the House early this year but it’s understood it might not be heard in Parliament until the next quarter.

A spokesman for Chhour confirmed a second pilot would be run from Monday, involving 10 teenagers between 15-17 years of age with similar offending patterns as the previous cohort.

It was expected the 10 young offenders would spend more time within the youth justice residence than had occurred in the first pilot, a recommendation from the review and a position Chhour had often voiced.

It was likely they would spend six months instead of three within Palmerston North’s youth justice facility, Te Au rere a te Tonga, and the remaining six months in the community.

Given the legislation hadn’t been passed, the participants and their families had to agree to taking part in the second pilot.

It’s understood the content and structure of the programme would largely resemble the first pilot, but with more involvement with local iwi Rangitāne.

Adam Pearse is the Deputy Political Editor and part of the NZ Herald’s Press Gallery team based at Parliament in Wellington. He has worked for NZME since 2018, reporting for the Northern Advocate in Whangārei and the Herald in Auckland.