Police News June 09.indd - New Zealand Police Association

New Zealand Police AssociationAssociation welcomes proposedlegislation for young offendersBy Deb Stringer, Communications AssistantThe Police Association has welcomedthe introduction of the Children,Young Persons, and Their Families(Youth Courts Jurisdiction and Order)Amendment Bill.The Association is pleased to see thatmajor issues of concern, which werenot encompassed in the previous Act,have been addressed in the proposedchanges.The decision to abandon the ideaof shifting 17-year-olds from theDistrict Court to the Youth Court ismost welcome, according to PoliceAssociation President Greg O’Connor.Effectiveness queriedThe Association believes it would havedone “absolutely nothing” to improvethe “effectiveness or credibility” of thejustice system in its dealing with thisgroup.Another change welcomed by theAssociation is allowing Police theoption of bringing 12 and 13-yearoldserious offenders before the YouthCourt. Under current legislation theseoffenders are dealt with through a ‘careand protection’ order in the FamilyCourt.Police officers who work in this field saythat dealing with such young offendersunder current law is often timeconsuming,difficult and ineffective.The Association believes the YouthCourt is better equipped to deal withthese kinds of offenders, as it holdsspecialist jurisdiction and the expertiseto deal both with the causes of youthoffending and the power to holdoffenders accountable for their actions.A need for further changeAlthough the Association is pleasedwith the move, it feels the thresholdunder the new Bill is too high for it to beeffectively exercised, as only offenderswho have committed extremely seriousoffences (offences punishable by 14years or more imprisonment); or veryserious repeat offenders (a second veryserious offence punishable by 10 yearsor more imprisonment) can be dealtwith by the Youth Court.The Association believes expertpractitioners should be empowered totackle these types of offences on thefirst occasion, under the auspices of theYouth Court.Fair callHowever, one issue the new Bill failsto address is the use of imprisonmentas an option for offenders under theage of 17, who are not charged withpurely indictable offences. Whilethe Association stressed that it is notadvocating for a system, which wouldsend young offenders to prison bydefault, it believes there should be theflexibility for judges to utilise this optionwith some recidivist youth offenders,if their offending is serious enough towarrant it. Other moves welcomedOther proposed changes welcomed bythe Association are:• Changes toYouth Court supervision orders;• Doubling the maximum length of themost restrictive sentences;• The power to transfer 14-year-oldswho have committed very seriousoffences to the District Court; and• The correction of premature expiryof Youth Court orders for offenderswho have turned 17.Try our brain teaser quizOkay, morning or afternoon tea break hasarrived. You have your cuppa in hand and youand your colleagues could do with a quickbrain workout. So appoint your quizmaster andhave a go at these questions. The answers areunder the quiz (upside down, no peeking!).1. With what metal would associate theword aurum?2. New Zealand’s largest lake is 606kilometres square. What is its name?(a) Lake Tekapo (b) Lake Taupo (c)Lake Rotorua (d) Lake Manapouri.3. What cocktail is made from vodka,Galliano and orange juice?4. Which lake is England’s largest?5. In which country was the famed“Rumble in the Jungle” worldheavyweight boxing title fight betweenMuhammad Ali and George Foreman?6. On which sea is the Gaza Strip?7. What was the artist Picasso’s firstname?8. Who wrote the poem “If”?9. In policing what do the letters CVIUstand for?10. What is the capital of Cameroon?Scoring: 0-2 – Hmmn, room for significantimprovement (perhaps next month). 3-5 Notbad, better luck next time. 6-7 – Good effort.8 – Very good. 9 – Excellent. 10 – Wipe yournose, take a bow and go to the top of the classEinstein.Answers: Gold, Lake Taupo, HarveyWallbanger, Lake Windermere, Zaire,Mediterranean, Pablo, Rudyard Kipling,Commercial Vehicle Investigation Unit,Yaounde.Detective school just keeps getting betterA Hamilton member recently recounted this story to PoliceNews and we thought readers might find it of interest. In herown words…We are expecting our fourth child soon, and our other childrenare very excited and share the news with anyone who willlisten.Our seven-year-old was staying at her friend’s house notlong ago, when her friend’s grandfather arrived. Our daughtereagerly told him: “My mum is having another baby.” “That’sgreat” came the reply.“Yes and it’s a boy”, my daughter retorted. “How do you knowthat it’s a boy?” asked the granddad.“Oh my dad’s a detective and he told me”…“Well, he must be a very good detective,” said the granddad.The member told Police News: “Now, I’m sure my husband’sgood at his job, but I don’t think he’s that good. What are theyteaching down in Wellington these days!”.June 2009123