Fresh Start for young offenders
16 February 2009
New legislation amending the Child, Young Persons, and their Families Act will target New Zealand’s most serious and persistent young offenders.
Aimed at the worst 1,000 youth offenders, the changes include tougher sentences, lowering the jurisdiction of the Youth Court to include 12 and 13 year olds accused of serious offences, and a range of new compulsory orders.
The Fresh Start approach will also offer new military-style activity programmes for the most serious young offenders.
The new Bill will be introduced into New Zealand's Parliament on Wednesday 18 February 2009. The Government intends to pass this into law by the end of this year and to begin implementation from as early as April 2010. The implementation will be complete by the end of 2010.
