Police are worried more girls are committing serious crimes.
A group of girl racers, all under 15, were lucky to escape a crash in Pakuranga with minor injuries after police gave chase.
Police say more girls are committing the kinds of violent crimes that are usually associated with boys.
"Seeing females kicking people in the head when they're on the ground, and robbing dairies and stuff is not what we traditionally expect to see," says Inspector Dave Glossop.
In June 2017, Lily Pritchard-Davis was sentenced to four years and two months in prison. Aged just 17, she had committed 28 crimes, including carjacking a 65-year-old woman in Panmure.
"Some of the females that we're dealing with are brutal and very vicious, and are committing crime exactly the same as males," says Inspector Glossop.
Ministry of Justice statistics show girls consistently commit about 20 percent of youth crimes that end up in court. However, in crimes intended to cause injury, that figure rises to 30 percent - up by a third in two years.
Parenting expert Ian Grant says parents need to take a different line to keep their daughters on the straight and narrow.
"Boys learned a few boundaries, which some of the girls haven't learned yet," he says.
"A boy just wants to hear from his dad 'you've got what it takes, mate, I'm glad you're in my team', and that's respectful love. Girls need to hear 'you're lovely, you're capable, you've got a good brain'.
Police say many services are available to help teenage boys, but there's a gap in the market to deal with female offenders and they need time to train people up.
Newshub.
