May 13, 2022
Ram raid addiction needs treatment
Artist and activist Tame Iti is teaming up with Kiwibank local hero of the year Dave Letele to look at what can be done about youth crime.
Iti says one of the trusts he is part of is already working in South Auckland, and he has decades of youth work to call on.
He says hard times are no excuse for bad behaviour like ram raids, but the answer is treatment rather than punishment.
“Once they go through the first hit it becomes very addictive and working with kids that have done home invasions and having conversations with a lot of these kids over a period of time, I think the community can work out and find some ways and means,” Iti says.
He says many young people can be emboldened because they think they are too young to be punished by the criminal justice system.