New Zealand uses military-style academy to address youth crime

The New Zealand government is currently progressing with a pilot military-style academy program to address youth crime, with criticizers saying punitive measures would label young offenders for life.

The academy, based at the youth justice facility in Palmerston North in the North Island, will be run for 10 young people already in youth justice facilities and feature a three-month residence stage, followed by a nine-month community phase, Children's Minister Karen Chhour said on Sunday.

Participants will follow a specially created curriculum and syllabus, with daily activities to support their health, learning and well-being, Chhour said, adding this will include military-style activities.

However, Chief Children's Commissioner Claire Achmad warned on Monday that using punitive measures to combat youth crime could see young offenders labeled for life.

The government is introducing a new declaration for young offenders to ensure that they face tougher consequences and are better supported to turn their lives around, according to a government statement.

The establishment of a Young Serious Offender (YSO) declaration will provide more options for the Youth Court and police to hold serious and persistent young offenders accountable, and make powerful interventions to improve their lives, which supports the government's target to reduce serious repeat youth offending by 15 percent, it said.

YSOs could be sent to the new military-style academy, subjected to a greater use of electronic and judicial monitoring, and police will have the power to arrest a young person without warrant for non-compliance with conditions of an order or a breach of their bail conditions, Chhour said.

However, Achmad said government plans for a new YSO category were not the answer to reducing youth crime, and would not build safer communities.

A Youth Court judge will have the final say on declaring someone a YSO, and a young person will be eligible if they are 14- to 17-year-old, have had two offenses punishable by imprisonment of 10 years or more proven in court, are assessed as being likely to reoffend, with previous interventions having proven unsuccessful, Chhour said.