1 July 2013

For immediate release

JustSpeak shows youth crime at record low

Today JustSpeak releases a graph clearly showing youth crime has never been lower in recent memory. JustSpeak’s online report, using the latest Statistics New Zealand data show that the youth apprehension rate has dropped 35% since 1994.

“Youth crime has not been lower in recent memory. We call on politicians to keep this fact in mind when discussing youth crime” says JustSpeak spokesperson Lydia Nobbs.

“There were 29,153 apprehensions of 10- to 16-year-olds in 2012 compared with 40,560 in 1994, when the records start. Overall offences show a similar pattern. Youth crime has been falling dramatically in the last decade and continues to fall.”  

The rate has dropped from 110 apprehensions per 1,000 young people in 1994 to 71 apprehensions per 1,000 young people in 2012. “This is comparable to over an entire classroom in every high school of 1,000 students no longer committing crimes in 2012” says Lydia Nobbs.

Apprehensions mean that Police have dealt with an offender – including warnings, prosecutions and referrals to youth justice family group conferences – to resolve a crime. While apprehension data shows only resolved offences, it is the most appropriate measure of youth crime.

The fall in youth crime is driven by decreases in theft-related offences. Youth theft apprehensions have halved since 1994.

“New Zealand still has work to do in the area of violent youth offending,” says Lydia Nobbs. “Acts intended to cause injury, at approximately 8 apprehensions per 1,000 young people in 2012, is higher than approximately 7 per 1,000 young people in 1994. Nevertheless, acts intended to cause injury seems to have declined substantially since its 2010 peak, with a 13% reduction from last year alone.”

“Falling youth crime rates is a phenomenon recorded in most other developed countries. The United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom have all recorded large declines in youth crime rates” says Lydia Nobbs.

Any number of factors could be responsible for the falling crime rates, and the degree of influence each factor plays is up for debate. Potential causes could be better policing practices, good use of alternative action plans in the youth justice system, more emphasis on reducing reoffending, stronger security such as car alarms, more use of security cameras in public, declining school expulsions, wider access to mental health and addiction services, falling prices of goods usually associated with theft, reduced environmental pollution, and more opportunities for young people to curb boredom (for example, video games and smart phones). And there are certainly more contenders that may help explain the reduction.

“While we can’t attribute the decline to any one cause, one fact is clear: we are not in the midst of a youth crime crisis,” says Lydia Nobbs.

Infographic and full report: http://justspeak.org.nz/youth-crime-at-record-low/

The numbers: Apprehensions of 10- to 16-year-olds

ENDS

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