Youth Justice – how we're doing

We are committed to supporting young people, whānau and victims of youth crime to restore their mana.

Support following offending

Re engagement for those with Youth Justice history Graph

The proportion of young people referred to Oranga Tamariki Youth Justice once and not subsequently re-referred (blue section of bar) has been growing over the past two years to 47 percent. Meanwhile the proportion of young people referred multiple times and not subsequently re-referred (green section of bar) has been declining over the past two years to 28 percent. 76 percent of young people with a past Youth Justice referral had no contact with us this quarter.

Graph text description – re-engagement for those with youth justice history

This chart shows the number of rangatahi who have not had any engagement with Youth Justice in the quarter as a proportion of the total rangatahi we have previously engaged with who are still eligible for Youth Justice.

Of all applicable aged rangatahi in the latest quarter:

908 rangatahi who had only one previous family group conference did not have any engagement with Youth Justice in the quarter
544 rangatahi who had multiple previous family group conferences did not have any engagement with Youth Justice in the quarter

Re-offending

FGC history for young people with current FGC Graph v2

The number of FGCs held overall has continued to decrease this quarter. Each FGC history category saw a reduction, however the number of young people who had five or more FGCs reduced by 36 percent since the last quarter. Young people who have had between 1 and 4 FGCs in total made up the majority (78 percent) of all FGCs this quarter.

Graph text description – FGC history for young people with current FGC

This chart shows the number of rangatahi who have had a family group conference in the quarter, split by the total number of family group conferences they have had in their lifetime, over the past two years.

Of all rangatahi who had an family group conference in the latest quarter:

299 have had one family group conference
200 have had two to four family group conferences
86 have had five to nine family group conferences
39 have had ten or more family group conferences

What is a family group conference (FGC)?

A youth justice family group conference gives a young person, along with their whānau, victims and professionals, a chance to help find solutions when they have offended.

There are three types of youth justice family group conference: an FGC for children who offend, an Intention to Charge FGC, and a Court Ordered FGC.

Less restrictive placements

Custodial placements in Youth Justice Graph

The total number of community-based placements increased in the latest quarter and accounts for 24 percent of placements. The number of residence placements has remained stable over the last three quarters and the number in police custody has reduced significantly in the last quarter. The total number in custody in June 2021 is similar to the June quarter of the previous year, following a significant drop from March 2020.

Note: Work is underway to query the Police Custody figure as it does not align with other data sources

Graph text description – custodial placements in youth justice

This chart shows the number of remand placements over the quarter by type of placement. This is shown by quarter for the last two years.

In the latest quarter:

78 rangatahi had a community based placement
227 rangatahi had a residence placement
14 rangatahi were in Police Custody at some point

What are the different types of placements?

There are several different types of youth justice placements. These can include:

Residence: A youth justice residence provides a safe and secure place for young people to stay who are in the custody of the Chief Executive following arrest, remand or sentence. Residences are locked facilities that provide 24 hour containment and care.

Community-based placement: A young person in the custody of the Chief Executive can be placed in the community if their circumstances do not require them to be in secure residence. Community-based placements can include group remand homes, supervised group homes, and family homes among others.

Police custody: A young person can be held securely by the Police immediately following arrest or on custodial remand while a court case is progressing. This can include those in custody of the Police or in the custody of the Chief Executive.

Shorter placements

Average days in Placement by type Remand or SWR Graph v3

Supervision with residence placements have the highest average length with 114 days - the length of these placements is strongly influenced by the sentence length given by the court. The average time spent in a residence on remand has increased slightly to 45 days. The average placement length in police custody has remained stable at 1.1 days and has reduced in community-based placements to 12 days.

Graph text description – average days on custodial remand

This chart shows the average length in days of each of the remand placement types, by quarter for the past two years.

In the latest quarter:

The average length of time spent in Police Custody was 1.1 days
The average length of a Supervision With Residence placement was 114.3 days
The average length of a Residence on Remand placement was 45.1 days
The average length of a Community-based placement was 12.5 days

What are the different types of custodial placements?

There are several different types of custodial placements. These include:

Supervision with Residence Orders (SWR): When a serious charge against a young person is proved before the Youth Court. The court can then order the young person to live in a youth justice residence under the custody of the Chief Executive. Supervision with residence placements are strongly influenced by the sentence length given by the court.

Custodial remand: When a young person is detained in the custody of the CE in a residence while a court case is progressing. The definition here also includes detention in the CE’s custody following arrest up to the first court appearance.

Initial case decision

Status of cases after first court appearance Graph

Shares of each initial case outcome type have fluctuated slightly over time. There has been a decrease in the proportion of cases initially placed on custodial remand then bail. For the vast majority of cases, young people are released on bail after their first court appearance. On average, around 390 court cases end each quarter.

Graph text description – status of cases after first court appearance

This chart shows the number of cases finalised in the quarter by the status of their release after the first court appearance. This is shown by quarter for the past two years.

In the latest quarter after the first appearance before a judge for each case:

26 rangatahi were released on custodial remand
45 rangatahi were released on custodial remand then later went onto bail
310 rangatahi were released on bail
15 rangatahi were released into the community

Escalation of bail

The majority of young people who are released on bail remain on bail throughout the case. However around 25 percent to 30 percent are subsequently remanded in custody. The proportion that stayed on bail has been similar over time. Those who remain on bail with no offence make up 55 percent of all statuses for the quarter.

Graph text description – final status of first bail

This chart shows the success on bail for each case which had bail in the quarter for the past two years.

Of the cases that had some bail during the quarter:

197 did not offend and stayed on bail throughout the quarter or until sentencing
61 stayed on bail despite committing an additional offence
80 offended and were moved from bail into custodial remand
17 did not offend but were moved from bail into custodial remand

Published: September 9, 2021

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