November 21, 2019
Police cells no place for teens
On the 30th anniversary of New Zealand signing the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Children, a former policeman and youth justice minister is asking why under-17s are still being housed in police cells.
Chester Borrows says the numbers are increasing, with 62 14, 15 or 16-year-olds spending time in cells in 2014 and 284 in 2017.
So far this year the total is 165, with data from the Children’s Commissioner indicating about 70 percent would be Māori.
That’s at a time when youth crime is at a 30 year low.
Mr Borrows says it’s even worse than prison.
"There's far less facilities. There's no ability to exercise. They may well be in cells alongside adult offenders and there is nothing in a police cell so there are no books, there is no distractions, there is no counsellor, there's no one taking them for education or anything else, these kids are just locked up and chucked in a cell and it's not good enough," he says.
While the numbers point to a lack of secure residential placements held by Oranga Tamariki and other agencies, it also indicates a lack of willingness across the sector to confront the problem.
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