The number of young offenders has fallen by more than 60 percent in the past 10 years, but a disproportionate number of rangatahi Māori are still appearing before the youth court, the principal youth court judge says.
Photo: RNZ / Richard Tindiller
There are nearly 12,000 fewer 10 to 16 year olds committing crimes according to the latest Youth Justice Indicators Summary report.
The government report shows 673 Māori aged 14 to 16 appeared in the court in the year to July 2021, compared with nearly 1400 in the year to July 2017.
Principal Youth Court Judge John Walker told Morning Report a disproportionate number of rangatahi Māori are still appearing before the youth court
"This report and last report we were seeing rates for young Māori offending falling more than at the rate for non-Māori but it still leaves us with a disproportionate number of Māori in our criminal justice system generally."
It reflects disproportionate figures for Māori in other indications like health, housing and poverty, he said.
"All of these things contribute to offending behaviour. This low number of young people appearing in our youth court really means that the number we are seeing are very complex young people with a myriad of complex issues underlying their offending behaviour.
"A lot of this falls disproportionately on to Māori - the neuro-disabilities, the exposure to trauma, brain injury, all these factors that we're seeing constantly in the youth court."
The challenge is to address the underlying causes early, he said.
He doesn't think just one thing has led to the drop and while a lot of people get diversion, the low figures are across the board.
"The real challenge here is understanding why. Why has this been happening, why has it been trending down the way it is.
"Unless we can pinpoint - and it won't be just one cause - the reduction and throw as much resource as we can into what's obviously working, then these things can become cyclical and reverse."
Justice Minister Kris Faafoi said the figures show a positive trend.
He said it's difficult to pinpoint all the reasons for the overall reduction in youth offending, but there has been a range of youth justice initiatives.
Agencies in the sector are undertaking long-term work to improve the disproportionate impacts on Māori from the justice system, he said.
