The Government has announced it will build two more Oranga Tamariki youth justice units for young offenders.
It comes after Oranga Tamariki has been criticised for a series of high-profile incidents at youth justice facilities.
But despite this, the Government revealed on Tuesday it will build two more units - to cater for up to 30 higher-needs youth - as well as strengthen legislation to make residences safer and more secure.
The units are designed to provide more intensive support for the most serious offending and will predominantly cater for older teenagers, Prime Minister Chris Hipkins said.
"When a young person is sent to a youth justice facility by the Court, the public have an expectation they will not only be held accountable for crimes such as ram raids but also receive the rehabilitation they need," Hipkins said.
The Prime Minister said the introduction of 17-year-olds into the system has created challenges and they "need to do things differently".
"There is a big difference between a 14-year-old and a 17-year-old and what support and guidance they need. I want to see these new units designed with the best-possible rehabilitation models in mind for these offenders," Hipkins said.
Just this year alone, Oranga Tamariki has been hit over and over by scandals, with a total of 13 staff removed from youth justice facilities in recent weeks and multiple investigations underway.
In February, a staff member was stabbed with a makeshift weapon as five teenagers escaped onto the roof of Te Puna Wai o Tuhinapo Youth Justice Facility in Rolleston.
At the same centre in June, a group of teenagers once again escaped to the roof and a week later young offenders in Auckland's Korowai Manaaki Youth Justice Residence also broke out onto the roof - in both cases, the youths were given fast food to end the standoff.
Serious allegations of sexual misconduct also emerged in June, with former Police Commissioner Mike Bush brought in to investigate.
Most recently, Newshub exclusively broadcast footage showing an MMA-style fight at an Auckland facility.
As well as the new units, Minister for Children Kelvin Davis has unveiled changes to legislation, which would allow for staff, visitors, and young people to be searched in a non-invasive manner when entering the premises.
The ability to place young people in secure care when it is believed a mass disorder event is imminent will also be a new tool available to staff, Davis said.
He described the behaviour seen at youth justice facilities this year as "unacceptable" and hopes these measures will make a difference.
"That is simply not good enough and along with the immediate strengthening of these facilities staff need to be able to stop these types of events when they know something is brewing," Davis said.
"It is equally unacceptable there is little ability to search someone, whether they be staff, visitors, or the young people themselves when they enter a residence.
"This will be an important change to reduce any contraband and weapons entering, and I expect it to be done in the least-invasive way possible - more akin to passing through a metal detector at airport security."
The Government has also unveiled extra funding and additional resources for Oranga Tamariki Family Group Conferences (FGC).
FCG will receive an extra $1 million, which will go towards new family group coordinators who will be specifically focused on youth crime issues.
FCG are formal meetings where the family comes together with professionals to talk about concerns Oranga Tamariki may hold for a child.
Additionally, police and Oranga Tamariki have also agreed to develop a protocol that will streamline the process of referring a young person to an FGC when warranted and to respond quicker when a young person has breached a Family Court order.
"We know these processes often reduce the chances of a young person reoffending and that's what we know the general public want," Davis said.
"When the Family Court has granted custody and support orders for these young people that include conditions to manage the risk of re-offending, we need to respond quicker to any sign that is happening - these protocols will do that.
"Making sure police and Oranga Tamariki work together and have a clear process for when someone should or shouldn't be referred to a FGC will help speed up the system and lead to better results for everyone."
On Monday, the Prime Minister announced new measures including a new offence for anyone posting crimes on social media.
Hipkins also announced adults rewarding or encouraging children to commit crimes would be a new aggravating factor in sentencing.
It also said it would be beefing up police prosecution resources with funding for 78 more prosecutors.
Reaction
Reaction was quick to come in from opposition parties following the Government's youth justice announcement on Tuesday, with the ACT Party saying Labour doesn't deserve to govern as they've let victimisation skyrocket at enormous cost to so many victims.
"Then with an election in 88 days and crime a rising issue in the polls, they pretend to care," ACT Leader David Seymour said.
Seymour described the Government's plan as a "half-baked, uncosted, bargain-bin" version of ACT's policy to provide more youth justice beds.
ACT previously announced, if elected, it wanted to build 200 new youth justice beds.
"Labour has scrambled this policy together on the fly, and it shows. Want some insight into why Labour is trying to fire law and order policy out the door in such a rush?
"It's simple. According to the latest IPSOS Issues Monitor, since the last election, crime has gone from the fourth biggest issue to the second biggest issue, with the percentage of New Zealanders considering it their biggest issue increasing from 16 per cent to 40 per cent. It shouldn't take an election for a Government to suddenly care about victims.
