Principal Youth Court Judge Andrew Becroft won't be drawn on Government considerations over whether to raise the youth justice age to 17, but said there would be clear advantages to being able to intervene with youth court measures, before they hit the adult criminal justice system.
New Zealand's youth justice age of 17 stands "as an enduring stain on New Zealand's otherwise good youth justice record," says the Principal Youth Court Judge. While New Zealand's youth justice system was considered internationally to be "pioneering in its approach", it had a long way to go, said Judge Andrew Becroft.
He is soon to be New Zealand's next Children's Commissioner, replacing outgoing commissioner Russell Wills on July 1.
It was in his current role as Principal Youth Court Judge, that he made the comments to the New Zealand Neurodisability Forum, hosted by the Dyslexia Foundation.
He was unable to comment on Government moves to consider raising the age, but said a "singular advantage of including 17-year-olds would be including a cohort that probably most need a thoughtful and nuanced approach" to neurodevelopmental disorders". It would be a fantastic addition to what's available, and the adult system doesn't have it yet, for dealing with young people with these sorts of issues."
Social Development Minister Anne Tolley unveiled the first phase of changes for a planned overhaul of Child, Youth and Family last month. As part of that, the Government has announced the age of care for the state to remain looking after a child will be raised to 18, with any young person given the option of retaining full care to 21, and some support until they turn 25.
Ministers were also investigating raising the youth justice age to 18, so that 17-year-olds could appear in Youth Court, rather than with the adults in District Court. Becroft said it could help particularly in addressing the issue of Maori disproportionality.
"Because all we can do to have alternative ways in dealing with Maori, I think would be an advantage. Clearly 17-year-olds would have a big opportunity to reduce the disproportionality in the adult criminal justice system, because we could effectively intervene using non-court interventions."
That would also be helped by a greater understanding of neurological disorders and their prevalence, he said. He told the story of one boy who came through the court sentenced to supervision with residence – a six-month youth prison sentence, followed by supervision in the community.
He was sent to a military-style activity camp – which incorporates
outdoor activities and skills with cognitive behavioural therapy – where
he was "a star performer". Despite high expectations the boy committed
three serious crimes within two days of completing his sentence. A
detailed psychological report found he was "profoundly affected" by
foetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD).
"So everything that had
been done at the [camp] term, in terms of cognitive behavioural therapy
and the like, was basically a prize waste of time. The presence of
neurodisabilties in the Youth Court had been "invisible for too long" he
said.
While no New Zealand research had been carried out, figures from the Welsh justice system painted an alarming picture. A 2012 study there found that while between 0.1 and 5 per cent of the population lived with FASD, that group represented 10.9 to 11.7 per cent of young people in custody. Between 65.1 to 72.1 per cent of young people in custody had had a traumatic brain injury, though they made up up to 31 per cent of young people in the general population.
For young people with communication disorders, they made up 60 to 90 per cent of the custodial population, compared to just 5 to 7 per cent of the general population.
Becroft said it would suprising if New Zealand's figures weren't similar, and it was likely figures for FASD would be worse.
Stacey Kirk
12 May 2016
