It’s never too early, never too late: A discussion paper on preventing youth offending in New Zealand

Abstract

This report is the second in a series of discussion papers exploring factors that have led New Zealand to have a high incarceration rate. It explores factors that are particularly relevant to youth offenders (up to age 25 years). There are no quick-fix solutions to the problems facing the New Zealand justice system; we need medium- to long-term changes to reshape the pathways that can lead from childhood behaviour to adult prison and so on to the next generation.There are, however, evidence-based steps that can be taken in the short-term for long-term benefit, particularly about the “prison pipeline”, the seemingly inevitable journey from early offending (age 8 to 10 years – and the childhood characteristics that precipitate that) to eventual adult prison. There is good international and local evidence that action with children and young people (up to age 25 years) can make a real difference―that “developmental crime prevention” works.