Teen offender sent to adult prison after guardian Oranga Tamariki unable to find suitable bail address

Wednesday, 21 July 2021

An 18-year-old was recently held in isolation at Whanganui Prison when Oranga Tamariki failed to provide an alternative remand option.

Abandoned by his parents and made a ward of the state, an 18-year-old offender was isolated in an adult prison for a week because Oranga Tamariki, his guardian, could not find him an alternative.

Tupua Urlich, who was himself in state care as a youth and spent time in custodial isolation, said the experience jeopardised the mental health of the New Plymouth teen.

“From my experience, even if it’s just for a day, it’s the emotions that you go through and what you feel. It’s the abandonment, the fear and anxiety,” said Urlich, who is now an advocate at Voice Of the Young and Care Experienced, also known as VOYCE.

“And we could have avoided a young person being held in isolation by just actually owning our responsibility.”

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Oranga Tamariki, also known as the Ministry for Children and previously the Ministry for Vulnerable Children, had told the lawyer of the teen, who has no parental support and has admitted a string of burglaries, it could not provide assistance when New Plymouth District Court first considered his bail last month.

Consequently, he was remanded into custody for a week at Whanganui Prison, where he was held in isolation due to his youth.

The Bail Act states if a defendant is 18 and has never before been sentenced to jail, a court must release them on bail or otherwise subject to such conditions as it thinks fit.

However, it also allows for the court to remand them into the custody of Oranga Tamariki, or detain them in a prison if there are no other desirable options.

In not providing the court an alternative to prison, Oranga Tamariki had failed the teen, Urlich said.

“The state assumes the role of a parent and what decent parent would allow a young person to remain in isolation for that long.”

Oranga Tamariki said it could not provide assistance for the teen under its guardianship, when he first appeared in court seeking bail.

In some instances Oranga Tamariki guardianship orders remain in place until the age of 20 and there is now support for people, up to the age of 25, leaving state care and the youth justice system through the Government department’s Transition Support Service.

In May 2020, Oranga Tamariki identified 1031 young people aged 16 to 17, and 2218 aged 18-21 who were eligible for the transition service.

It was expected to help 3000 people aged under 25 over four years.

But Urlich said there was uncertainty around what that “support” looked like.

“People know that the [support] age has gone up but not a lot know what that looks for them as people in care.”

Before the teen was locked up at Whanganui Prison, he spent time in police custody.

On June 24, the teen’s defence lawyer Josie Mooney argued for his release.

If he had a suitable address and family support he might have been bailed, she said outside court.

But he did not, which is why Mooney had contacted Oranga Tamariki for assistance.

Oranga Tamariki told her it needed more notice for arrests and could not provide an immediate response.

This saw the youth's transfer to Whanganui Prison.

Children's Commissioner Judge Andrew Becroft said any person under the care of Oranga Tamariki should be helped in their time of need.

“He didn’t have a chance,” Mooney said.

The teen returned to court on July 1, again seeking bail. The previous afternoon, Oranga Tamariki had contacted Mooney to say it still did not have community “placement options” available.

She had otherwise not heard from Oranga Tamariki the week the teen was locked up, and neither had he.

Judge Gregory Hikaka viewed Oranga Tamariki’s response to the matter as unsatisfactory and said he would consider remanding the teen to a Youth Justice residence, she said.

Judge Hikaka stood the matter down for Mooney to make further enquiries.

The teen returned to court an hour later to hear Oranga Tamariki could still not provide him assistance.

However, later that same day its stance had changed and a placement at a Youth Justice residence was available. He was transferred to the facility that day.

Oranga Tamariki would not answer questions around the teen’s situation, citing privacy.

Follow-up questions about there being a potential wait period for offenders under the guardianship of Oranga Tamariki in need of a bail address revealed there was no current waiting list for placements.

Children's Commissioner Judge Andrew Becroft said he could not comment on the specific situation.

“What I can say is, for any person who is the subject of a guardianship order in favour of Oranga Tamariki I would expect their social worker to be helping them find a suitable place to live and providing support in their time of need.”