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There were 3,400 fewer young Maori in the youth justice system in 2018 than in 2010, a 56 percent drop.
Associate Justice Minister Aupito William Sio says the second Youth Justice Indicators Summary Report published yesterday by the Ministry of Justice, confirms a trend that youth offending is dropping.
The report presents data showing the flow of children and young people through the youth justice system from 2010 to 2018, drawn from figures collected by Oranga Tamariki, Police, and the Ministry of Justice.
Mr Sio says between 2010 and 2018, there was a 55 percent reduction in offending by children aged 10 to 13 and a 58 percent reduction by young people aged 14 to 16.
While the rate of offending by Māori young people has not reduced at the same rate as non-Māori, substantial gains have been made in reducing the number of Māori youth in the justice system.
There is a similar trend for young Māori appearing in the Youth Court with almost 1,200 fewer young Māori appeared in the Youth Court over the same period, with a 55 percent reduction.
Serious crime now makes up a larger proportion of all offending by children and young people than previously, but the number of offenders has dropped so there are far fewer victims of serious youth offending.
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