Hon Karen Chhour
Minister for Children

“The young offenders involved in the rooftop incident at an Oranga Tamariki youth justice residence in Auckland need to know there will be consequences for their actions, Children’s Minister Karen Chhour says.

“Last night, 13 young people gained access to the roof of the Korowai Manaaki residence at about 6.30pm.

“All of them are now down and I witnessed the final two come down late this morning.

“I have been assured by Oranga Tamariki there were no demands made by the young people and no demands would have been met, as this wasn’t a negotiation.

“There is no excuse for this totally unacceptable behaviour and there will be consequences for their actions.

“I want to thank all the Oranga Tamariki staff as well as Police and Corrections, FENZ and Health NZ for their support.

“At no time did any of the young people leave the property and there were no concerns for public safety.

“The facility has done what it was supposed to do – none of these young offenders have been able to leave the premises,” Karen Chhour says.

This is the first rooftop incident at an Oranga Tamariki youth justice residence this year, compared to 15 similar incidents in 2023

It comes after significant changes had been made to the operation of the youth justice residences since the release in September last year of the Independent, External Rapid Review of Oranga Tamariki Secure Residences by former Police Commissioner Mike Bush.

That work programme included improvements designed to lift the safety and security of residences.

It also involved improving recruitment for staff, training for staff and assessment of staff.

Other aspects of the work programme have included strengthening and maintaining infrastructure including target hardening rooftop access points and installing reinforced window frames and more secure ceiling fittings.

“Work has already begun on assessing how this incident was able to happen and what else can be done to prevent them in future.”

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