Youth justice experts call for urgent law changes to reduce harm in the youth justice system

Youth justice experts are calling for the government to make immediate legislative fixes to close gaps in the youth justice framework and reduce harm.

In a paper, Four urgent changes for the youth justice system, released this week, the experts argue no child or young person should be tried or sentenced in an adult criminal court.

The paper authors are Associate Professor Nessa Lynch and law honours student Tamara Wilson-Tasi from Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington, Professor Ian Lambie from the University of Auckland, and Children’s Commissioner Judge Andrew Becroft.

“All children and young people should have their cases resolved through the youth justice system where there are specialised judges, staff, procedures, and outcomes available,” says lead author Associate Professor Lynch from Te Herenga Waka’s Faculty of Law.

“Legislative amendments made under the last National Party-led government reduced the number of cases dealt with in adult court. It is now time to close these last gaps in the youth justice jurisdiction,” she says.

The experts call for an immediate end to the use of adult sentences—such as life imprisonment and minimum non-parole periods—for children and young people. Children’s Commissioner Judge Becroft believes that “where children and young people cause serious harm, their interests and the interests of society, are best served through a specialised therapeutic and reintegrative response”.

The experts also call for an immediate end to the use of police cell remands for children and young people, an issue regularly championed by the Children’s Commissioner during his time in office.

The fourth change the experts believe needs to be made immediately is an adjustment to Aotearoa’s minimum age of criminal responsibility, presently set at 10.

“This simply does not reflect our society’s contemporary views on children,” says Professor Lambie, who is a clinical psychologist, and chief science advisor for the justice sector for the government.

“Compare it, for instance, with the fact that it is an offence to leave a child aged under 14 without parental supervision. And yet a child can be criminally responsible at age 10.” He observes that it is also out of step with comparable jurisdictions, with Australian jurisdictions progressing reform towards the age of criminal responsibility being 14.

“We call for an immediate raising of the age to 12, moving to 14 years once work on the care and protection system has progressed.”

“These four proposed changes are urgent,” Associate Professor Lynch insists. “Children are being harmed every day that these changes are not made.