Military style boot camps are one step closer to becoming a reality as the government moves to introduce law changes to parliament this week.
Prime Minister John Key says the country needs to deal more effectively with a growing group of at-risk young Kiwis.
"We need to deal more effectively with the growing group of young Kiwis who are seriously and repeatedly breaking the law. These ticking time bombs need to be sent a message that their behaviour will not be tolerated," he says.
Key signalled the government's new approach in a speech he delivered in January last year.
The changes are aimed at the worst 1,000 young offenders, and will give the Youth Court a range of new powers, including more effective sentencing options.
"We must work to break the cycle of offending earlier. The government plans to pass this into law by the end of this year and to begin implementation as early as April. The implementation will be complete by the end of 2010," says Key.
The legislation gives the Youth Court the power to issue a new range of compulsory orders and it extends the court's jurisdiction to include 12 or 13-year-olds accused of serious offences.
Repeat offenders and those who breach community orders may be subject to judicial monitoring, with the court able to "spotlight" certain elements of their sentence. A small number may be monitored electronically.
The changes associated with the reforms will cost up to $35 million, however Key says the investment is worth making.
"There are many long-term economic and social benefits to be gained by rehabilitating young offenders. This is about encouraging positive habits and behaviour," he says.
Key says the Youth Justice legislation is one of a suite of new law and order policies that are being implemented or introduced in the first 100 days of the new government.
However some critics say the short, sharp, shock of military style training doesn't work.
"That idea is very popular with the public, the problem is it's a myth and those programmes don't work," says Kim Workman, director Crime and Punishment.
The Labour Party says the changes would do little to address the underlying causes of youth offending.
"It is, at best, an underwhelming `ambulance at the bottom of the cliff' response," social development spokeswoman Annette King says.
"The most unfortunate aspect of the plan is the proposed military-style activity camps, which have been discredited internationally."
They had been an abysmal failure in the past, she says.
The legislation could be passed by the end of this year and implementation would begin in April next year.
Implementation would be complete by 2010.
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