Remand centres are keeping kids out of police cells, agencies say

Thursday, 9 November 2017

Kyle Kuiti says putting young people in police cells, with adults, has long-term detrimental effects.

After years of rising numbers of children and young people detained in police cells, those numbers are declining, data shows.

The Ministry of Justice has said young people were remanded to police cells as a last resort (some could not be bailed because of family circumstances or not having a place to live), and as soon as that happened officials tried to find a bed in a secure unit.

Oranga Tamariki residence manager Kyle Kuiti at the new remand home for youth offenders in Palmerston North.

However, over the last few years, increasing numbers of young people spending more than 24 hours in cells has prompted the public, led by Children's Commissioner Andrew Becroft, to campaign for an end to the dangerous practice.

To relieve the issue, the new Ministry for Vulnerable Children Oranga Tamariki set about establishing community-based settings for young people detained pending their youth court hearing.

Ministry for Vulnerable Children Oranga Tamariki deputy chief executive Allan Boreham says his time with the police force showed him the benefits of keeping kids out of the adult criminal justice system.

* Children's Commissioner says putting children in police cells 'solitary confinement'

* Youth Custody Index aims to break cycle of youth incarceration**

And the latest data indicates that that seems to have helped: the number of young people detained in police cells for more than 24 hours in the most recent quarter, ending September 2017, was 70, according to Ministry figures. That's down from 111 for the same quarter the year prior.

Te Whare Awhi is Palmerston North's first remand home for young people. It opened at the beginning of November.

The Ministry's deputy chief executive Allan Boreham said the number of young people spending time in police cells had been increasing over the last few years, with some 'more challenging' months seeing 'one per day'.

But expanding facilities in communities meant there were now more options available for young people on remand, he said.

'Since April 1, when the was Ministry launched, we've not only been able to get 10 more beds into our residences but we've opened four community remand homes across the country (two in Rotorua, one in Palmerston North, and one in Dunedin), so that's 20 more beds available. That's seen a huge reduction — we have just had the lowest quarter of the last five.'

But while the latest figures were an improvement, they were still a long way off the goal of zero.

'A reduction of 40 per cent from the previous year is promising, but our aim is to not have any young people held longer than 24 hours in police cells, so we have to build the capacity to do that,' Boreham said.

The Oranga Tamariki Act, passed into law in July, 2017, extended the youth justice system to include most 17-year-olds. That legislation would come into force no later than June 2019, meaning the number of young people in police cells had to be 'under control' by then, he said.

'That's in essence a foundational step to ensure when we start looking after 17-year-olds we're not holding any of them for more than 24 hours in police cells.'

Kyle Kuiti, Oranga Tamariki's residence manager, has been working in youth justice residences for 15 years. He said of all the legislative changes involved in the state care system's overhaul, including 17-year-olds in the youth justice system was the most significant.

Research showed the youth justice system was more effective in reducing the likelihood of young people going on to offend, he said. 'Putting young people in police cells, with adults, has long-term detrimental effects.

'We wanted to provide the kids with the opportunity to stay in the community as opposed to putting them in a fully secure facility,' he said.

'That way, they can stay connected with education and health programmes, for example. It keeps them in a place where the whānau can come and participate, too.'

The Ministry was looking to build more centres, in Whangarei and Auckland, Boreham said.