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Archived Press Releases 2006 28th February 2006

Judge has Head in Sand

(28th February 2006)

The judge in charge of sentencing young offenders has been told to pull his head out of the sand and face reality.

Principal Youth Court Judge Andrew Beacroft expressed growing concern yesterday (see NZ Herald 27/02) about the surge in serious violent offending by teenagers, especially boys.

But while he stressed that "everyone in the youth justice sector is very concerned about it and watching carefully," the Sensible Sentencing Trust says the time for watching has past – it is now time for action.

"The judge has his head in the sand. All he needs to do is talk to New Zealand’s mums and dads to get the answer."

"The politically correct environment where children have rights before responsibilities has removed traditional values and boundaries that young people so badly need," said Trust spokesman, Garth McVicar.

Judge Beacroft said he did not think ‘P’ was yet a real factor in youth offending but Mr McVicar strongly disagreed, he said, ‘P’ stands for poor parenting and there was no doubt the systemic break-down in parenting was contributing to the increase in youth offending, - but community leaders and policy makers also needed to take their share of the blame.

"If Judge Beacroft is seriously looking for answers he need look no further than the PC social engineering experiment of the last 30-odd years."

"Society had allowed a bunch of academics and bureaucrats to destroy the essential fabric of a healthy, well-adjusted society. We used to teach our children the three ‘R’s’, now we teach them their ‘Rights’ but what has happened to their ‘Responsibilities?' The natural balance between the two has been destroyed, the boundaries have been removed and our young people are now totally confused with many not respecting the law and ending-up in trouble with the courts."

"Banning corporal punishment, family-group conferences, lack of respect for the police and attempts to remove a parents ability to smack their children were all examples of the PC environment that has created a spiralling epidemic of youth violence", said Mr McVicar.

"Young people need to be taught boundaries; they need to know they are accountable and responsible for their actions and most of all they need to be taught respect – from the day they are born – not by a prison guard after they get involved in the treadmill of our criminal justice and legal system”.

Regards,

Garth McVicar
National Spokesperson,
Sensible Sentencing Trust.