OPINION:

Over these past three months, I have done far too many visits around Whangārei to businesses that have been targeted by ram-raiders and burglars.

In the last week, I’ve visited Noel Leeming, Blackwoods, Liquorland
Maunu Road and the Liquor Centre Maunu Road. I have seen the videos and heard the managers’ stories of burglars using tomahawks, hammers and baseball bats.

These types of crimes are becoming more brazen, so it’s no surprise to me that some business owners and their staff are distraught, and all of them are frustrated by the Government’s inaction.

National is listening to New Zealanders and myself, and my colleagues are speaking to people who have been affected by ram-raids and burglaries. Since 2018, there has been a five-fold increase in ram-raids, with one happening somewhere in the country every 15 hours.

In November, National Party Leader Christopher Luxon announced National’s response to youth crime and outlined how a National government would target ringleaders of crime, including ram-raids.

First, we will create a new Young Serious Offender (YSO) category, targeting the ringleaders of crimes like ram-raids. This will apply to offenders aged 10 to 17 who have committed a serious offence such as a ram-raid, other aggravated burglary, or serious assault at least twice.

Consequences will include being sent to a Young Offender Military Academy, electronic monitoring, or being subject to an intensive supervision order in their community.

The second part will involve creating Young Offender Military Academies where YSOs aged 15 to 17 can be sent for up to 12 months.

The Academies will provide discipline, mentoring and intensive rehabilitation to make a decisive intervention in these young offenders’ lives. The Academies will be delivered in partnership with the Defence Force, alongside other providers.

As previously announced, National will give police greater powers to tackle gangs, by banning patches and stopping gang members from gathering in public.

The final part is, National will fund community organisations and other non-government agencies to break the cycle of offending. Some YSOs will be ordered to undergo intensive supervision by community-based organisations.

This will mean they face consequences for their actions and are equipped with tools to turn their lives around while remaining connected to their families.

Most of the perpertrators of these crimes are young. That tells us that the youth justice system is not stopping a group of serious, repeat young offenders, and is failing their victims.

The Government mocked these proposals – until the tragic death of the dairy owner in Sandringham.

Bringing this back to a Whangārei level, last week I asked the Minister of Police how many dairies in Whangārei in the past three years had been robbed or burgled, and if so, with what weapons. He wrote back saying that it was not in the public interest to provide that level of detail. Really, not in the public interest!

National is the party of law and order and we will not ignore the serious challenges that New Zealand faces, and we will not give up on our troubled youth.