A sustained spike in youth crime is continuing with ram raids, smash 'n' grabs and brawls across the country, but one youth development organisation says leaders are missing the mark on the issues faced by rangatahi.
Young offenders are pressured by Covid-related disruptions, social media trends and the cost-of-living crisis, says Te Ora Hou Ōtautahi rangatahi ora Amanda Smith. Photo: Supplied
A police report shows there has been a 400 percent increase in ram raids in the past five years, with more than 400 taking place in the last year.
Police Commissioner Andrew Coster said the rise had been noticeable.
"I'm confident that over time we will see a settling of this, but actually for the time being it is elevated," Coster said.
The government has introduced a 'tough on crime' approach, and the National Party has announced plans to assign job coaches for those under 25 on a benefit.
But Te Ora Hou Ōtautahi rangatahi ora Amanda Smith said the conversation surrounding youth crime lacked context.
Young offenders were pressured by years of Covid-related disruptions, social media trends and the cost-of-living crisis, Smith said.
"They do know the difference between what is wrong and what is right, but we have to remember that often society hasn't given their whānau the hand up that they need, and so if you're hungry, are you just gonna sit hungry?"
Young people committing offences were not stupid, she said.
"If we can just redirect their path into something positive, imagine what that could be used for."
Te Ora Hou kaihautū Jono Campbell said National Party's idea of job coaches would be helpful, but the response to crime should be more support for rangatahi, rather than the party's proposed benefit sanctions.
"We tend to work in a really binary society where things are good, bad, black, white, but actually not understanding context," Campbell said.
Te Ora Hou is a kaupapa Māori organisation, but works with any young person who walks through its door.
Part of a nationwide group, it supports many into training and employment and runs an alternative education school - but they are more focused on building relationships.
"If we can support strong connections so there's multiple places where our young people have [a sense of] belonging - whānau, community, across groups - that's the number one thing."
Sienna Ransfield has found that at Te Ora Hou.
They have just gathered the confidence to start a group for rainbow rangatahi after being involved in the community for a year.
"The vibe was good and everything, and for the first time ever, we got to raise the [rainbow] flag at Te Ora Hou."
Smith said she saw youth choosing to step up every day and one-on-one support was crucial to avoid falling back into patterns of crime.
"We have a responsibility as a community to take care of these young people, so I think rather than having a punitive approach, which we often do, we need to extend a hand."
Police said they were continuing to work alongside several agencies to address the wave of youth offences.