Human Rights and Prisons - Rethinking Crime and Punishment

Yet, overall, rates of crime by young people appear to have been in decline, or
at the very least static (Ombudsmen‟s Office, 2007).
In terms of gender, there has been much public concern about the apparent
growth in offending by girls. This is not borne out by the data. The Ministry of
Justice (2010b: 40) note that, „Since 1995 apprehension rates for both sexes
have declined, but the decline has been more gradual for females; as a result
a greater proportion of apprehensions is now attributable to females although
their actual rate has changed little‟. It is estimated that 83% of serious young
offenders are male (Youth Horizons, 2009).
What is clear, however, is that Māori children and young people are
apprehended far more than any other group. For those aged 13 or below, the
„apprehension rate is more than five times that of Pacific and NZ European or
other children‟ while for those aged 14 to 16 years, the apprehension rate for
Māori „is more than three times that of Pacific youth and NZ European or other
youth‟ (ibid). It is thought that 50% of serious young offenders are Māori; in
some Youth Courts, in areas of high Māori population, the Māori appearance
rate is 90% (Ombudsmen‟s Office, 2007; Youth Horizons, 2009).
As a group, young offenders (and similarly young prisoners) share a number
of common characteristics. They are, as Goldson (2009:89) highlights,
„…typically drawn from the poorest, most disadvantaged, structurally
vulnerable and oppressed sections of their respective populations‟. Most are
not at school or even enrolled; some will have specific learning disabilities,
such as dyslexia; most have histories of inadequate housing and transience;
most have suffered abuse, trauma and neglect; most lack positive rolemodels;
most have experienced few positive employment experiences; most
have a history of chronic anti-social behaviours; and, most are dependent
drug and alcohol users (see Goldson, 2009; Maxwell et al, 2004; McLaren,
2000, Youth Horizons, 2009).
Detention Rates
Despite the overall decline of youth offending, it is apparent that youth
prosecutions are trending upwards, with the proportion of apprehensions
resolved by prosecution increasing from 13.2% in 1995 to 29% in 2008
(Ministry of Justice, 2010b:169). Through the District and High Court,
sentences of imprisonment were imposed against 60 young people in 2004,
67 in 2005, 70 in 2006, 70 in 2007 and 32 in 2008 (Ministry of Justice,
2010b). In 2008, a fifth of all young people sentenced by the District or High
Court received a sentence of imprisonment (ibid). As at 30 June 2009, 52
young people under the age of 18 were imprisoned: four females and 48
males (Department of Corrections, 2010b).
There are many reasons to explain why imprisonment sentences have
increased over recent years. It may reflect: a growing scrutiny of, and
hardening towards, young people who are deemed „out of control‟; changes in
legislation that increase the propensity of imprisonment sentences generally;
as well as some increase in violent offending by young people. However, it
does appear that there are also notable regional variations in the sentencing
85