New measures aimed at criminals using youths to commit crime

Just-announced measures to combat crime include a new aggravating factor for an adult using young people to commit a crime and aggravated sentence for posting crimes online.

On 17 July the Government announced a range of steps to crack down on an increase in brazen criminal offending. “Prevention, protection and accountability is our focus,” Prime Minister Chris Hipkins said.

“We’re told many ramraids are done for notoriety on social media and the news or petty theft, but we know there’s also a planned or organised crime element to some of them,” he said. “Using a child to commit a crime is cowardly, exploitative and destroys lives, so the consequences must be serious.”

In response, the Government is creating a new aggravating factor that would apply when an adult, whether or not connected to an organised crime group, aids, encourages or incites a person under 18 to carry out an offence.

Posting offending behaviour online will also become an aggravating factor in sentencing.

“This ‘social media amendment’ we’re introducing will apply to adults and young people and provide the courts with an additional consideration when sentencing, and it sends a strong signal that this behaviour is unacceptable,” said the Prime Minister.

Among the changes, the Family Court will be given new powers to require – not request – young offenders (from the age of 10) to undertake community activities, such as cleaning graffiti and picking up rubbish.

“The Family Court will also be able to require that an offender attend an educational, recreational or activity programme,” he said. “That’s really important to get them engaged again and back on track and builds on the work we’re doing to improve school attendance.”

Victims will be entitled to attend Care and Protection Family Group Conferences for the first time in relation to children over 10. It will force the offender to confront the victims whose lives they are harming.

“None of this is about locking up children and perpetuating the cycle of crime. It’s about accountability and consequences to help break the cycle of offending. We’ll continue the careful and intensive work we’re doing to prevent young people from undertaking crime in the first place.”

Police Minister Ginny Andersen said the Government is also backing the Police to pursue criminal offending through the courts by boosting the prosecution service with an additional $26 million to help clear the case backlog in the District Court.

“This funding will allow Police to add up to 78 full time equivalent staff to prepare their in-court work against those who’ve committed serious crimes,” Ginny Andersen said.