File image. Photo: RNZ / Cole Eastham-Farrelly
New Zealand's detention watchdogs have sounded the alarm over the country's youth justice facilities, highlighting "evidence of regular assaults" and staff failing to intervene.
A report coordinated by the Human Rights Commission compiled the findings of 134 inspections carried out over 2022 and 2023 by agencies including the Chief Ombudsman, the Children's Commissioner, and the Independent Police Conduct Authority.
Of particular note were the experiences of mokopuna in ten Oranga Tamariki facilities.
The report warned of the harm caused by a punitive approach, little cultural understanding, and a lack of meaningful activities, all of it made worse by low staffing.
Mixed age groups meant younger children were picking up anti-social behaviour from older peers and were reluctant to complain for fear of being called a "snitch", the report said.
"If we have a fight in here or the staff hurt us, it is what it is. We cannot do nothing about it, no one's listening to us anyway," one resident said.
The report highlighted the need to improve the accessibility and independence of complaint processes for young people in detention.
In contrast, agencies commended the practice of community-based remand homes, saying the three of them visited supported children to thrive and treated them like whānau.
Concerns over ongoing harm of mokopuna in youth justice system
"It's choice here. We're all Māori here, that's how it should be. Māori looking after Māori, they get us, and it should be our people looking after us," one resident said.
The report said the community-based residences were "warm and homely" with a variety of entertainment options, which helped mokopuna to self-regulate.
Restrictive practices such as seclusion and use of force to restrain were not needed.
"Community remand homes consistently demonstrate positive findings. They provide good evidence that community models work and should be expanded," the report said.
Minister for children Karen Chhour told RNZ she had made it clear to Oranga Tamariki's senior leadership team that such findings fell well below her expectations.
"I fully expect the next report to show improvement," she said in a statement.
Chhour noted that the time period in question related to the former Labour government and said the coalition was investing in the frontline to improve staff capacity, capability and safety.
"We also already know we need to invest more in the facilities themselves, as they have been left to deteriorate over the last six years," Chhour said.
"This report does confirm for me that there is a huge need for programmes, like the new military style academies, which have been fully designed to today's standards and not left to chance like some of the failed experiments of the past."
But chief children's commissioner Dr Claire Achmad earlier told Midday Report she had "ongoing questions" about those youth boot camps.
"New Zealand and international evidence shows that military-style approaches to youth justice... just don't work in the long term."
Achmad said she advocated for a more "therapeutic model" across the whole youth justice system, like those seen in the community-run remand homes.
'Treated in a sub-human manner'
Green Party justice spokesperson Tamatha Paul told RNZ the report's findings proved why the "youth prisons" needed to be shut down altogether.
"Often these kids have come from the roughest of the rough backgrounds... and then they're coming into these detention facilities and being treated in a sub-human manner."
Paul said the government had an opportunity to turn these children's lives around by taking a community-based restorative approach.
"If we treat them like animals, if we cage them like animals, then there's no surprise why they act the way they do when they're adults," Paul said.
"We just need to stop locking up kids."
Paul said she expected the situation would only worsen under the new coalition given its 'tough-on-crime' rhetoric.
Labour Party children's spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime said it was a devastating report.
"The harmful behaviours and conditions identified in these facilities are absolutely unacceptable and must be addressed," Prime said.
It further reinforced why youth justice facilities were not equipped to run boot camps, she said.
"It's shameful that Minister Karen Chhour has cut $72 million from the Budget for community-based new-builds, choosing instead to pour money into boot camps, when this report found community-based remand homes were working well.
"We've already had the Abuse in Care royal commission report released a couple months back outlining the horrific stories experienced by children and young people in these facilities. We cannot go back down that road. To do so with boot camps, will take us backwards."