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Review of Children in Police Custody Raises Alarm Bells

23 October, 2012

Review of Children in Police Custody Raises Alarm Bells – UNICEF NZ

The joint thematic review on children in Police detention released today (by the Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA), the Office of the Children’s Commissioner and the Human Rights Commission (HRC)) raises more alarm bells around the situation for children in New Zealand, says UNICEF NZ (UN Children’s Fund).

Barbara Lambourn, National Advocacy Manager at UNICEF NZ, commented, “We’ve known for many years that steering children away from further delinquency, anti-social behaviour and criminality depends on how they are treated in the early stages of their offending.

“UNICEF NZ agrees with the statement from the Chief Human Rights Commissioner that locking children up should always be a last resort and that more attention needs to be paid to the rights of the child in such situations.

“It’s very worrying to see our very first Children’s Commissioner quoted as saying that children being held in custody was a problem for his office as far back as 1989. This report has identified some very serious breaches of children’s rights that should not be tolerated in a society that claims to treasure its children and wants the best for them,” Ms Lambourn said.

UNICEF NZ supports the findings in the report that shows more needs to be done on preventing young people offending and believes that it goes to the very heart of issues around family, community support and education.

Ms Lambourn said, “Unless we address the effects of intergenerational family dysfunction, poverty and disadvantage we will continue to see children lost to the education system and making choices that are not in their own or wider societal interests.

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“In the meantime, we need to ensure that we respect the rights of those children who come into contact with our justice system. We need to show that our nation is fair and compassionate and really does believe in the potential of every child to be a contributing citizen, given the right conditions.

“The Chief Youth Court Judge has already said that too many of our children are damaged and disadvantaged by real problems that are deeply embedded in our society, and that the young people he sees share distressingly similar characteristics,” added Ms Lambourn.

UNICEF NZ supports the recommendations for better training for front-line staff working with young offenders, and also supports the strategy to link the agencies responsible for providing facilities for the safe detention of young people where necessary.

“These are measures that can be facilitated quite quickly. We want to see the report taken seriously and acted on without delay,” Ms Lambourn said.

About UNICEF
UNICEF is on the ground in over 190 countries and territories to help children survive and thrive, from early childhood through adolescence.

The world’s largest provider of vaccines for developing countries, UNICEF supports child health and nutrition, good water and sanitation, quality basic education for all boys and girls, and the protection of children from violence, exploitation, and AIDS.

UNICEF is a charity funded entirely by the voluntary contributions of individuals, businesses, foundations and governments.

Every $1 donated to us is worth at least $10 in the field thanks to the way we work in partnership with governments, local NGOs and other partners - www.unicef.org.nz

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ENDS

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