Hon. Tony Ryall MP - National Law and Order spokesman

3 November 2004

Clark failing on youth crime promise

The Government is still failing to get on top of the youth crime rate as it promised, says National's Police spokesman, Tony Ryall.

He is commenting on reports that rises in youth crime are not significant.

"Contrary to these reports, three sets of indicators of youth crime - apprehensions, court appearances, and family group conferences - all show a continuing upward trend," says Mr Ryall.

· The total number of youth apprehensions continues to rise, up from 31,324 in 2000 to 33,994 in 2003, an increase of 8.5%. Of those, dishonesty and violence offences show the biggest rise.
· The number of youth court cases also continues to rise, from 3798 in 2000 to 4063 in 2004, an increase of 7%.
· The number of family group conferences is up from 6759 in 1999-00 to 7506 in 2003-04, an increase of 11%.

"Some of these figures are quite significant, and are certainly a far cry from Helen Clark's election pledge to crack down on youth crime," says Mr Ryall.

"It is time this Government got serious about tackling youth crime by giving the police more resources so they are more visible.

"National will tackle youth crime through an integrated approach that expects accountability from young offenders and their parents. We will lower the age of criminal responsibility, limit family group conferences, and give new powers to the Youth Court. We will also back early intervention programmes that work."

ENDS

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