Key "booed and jeered" by self-delusionists

Yesterday John Key addressed a conference hosted by Every Child Counts, a left-leaning, pro-Labour bunch which Barnardo's Murray Edridge, also present, described as "partisan". Hostile might have been a better descriptor.

Key was apparently booed and jeered for talking about boot camps to address youth offending.

Minister for Social Development, Ruth Dyson, was more warmly received. She responded,

The current youth justice system worked well and "in a way that respects our youth, keeps them out of the adult justice system". She said New Zealand risked losing its comparatively low youth offending level if it changed the approach.

So things are pretty hunky dory down under.

Consider then the following;

2007. Youth Court judge Andrew Becroft

Despite the successful use of diversion since reforms in 1989, its use had fallen markedly in the past two years, Judge Becroft said.

About 38 per cent of all police apprehensions of youth offenders now resulted in diversion, compared to 55 per cent two years ago.

In the same period, those that led to prosecutions in the Youth Court had risen from 17 per cent to 29 per cent.

One reason for that was a rise in violent offending among young people over the same period - but it was not the only factor, he said.

2007. From the Ministry of Social Development;

While there was growth in the young person population, overall offending rates remained static over the same period. In fact, when considered on a per 10,000 of population basis, the ratio of apprehensions to population decreased by over 11%.

However, there were significant increases in violent offending. Apprehensions for violent offending rose by 36.4% over the previous 8 years and charges for violent offending increased by 57.6% between 2000 and 2005. This suggests it is the ferocity, not the frequency of offending which is changing.

2008. Kim Workman National Director of Prison Fellowship and new appointment to the Families Commission;

Yes, there has been a recent rise in the rate of apprehensions for violent offending, particularly serious violent offending. But that increase applies to every age cohort of the population – apart from 10 – 13 year olds.

It is violent offending that society worries about most. Violent youth offending is accelerating.

It sickens me that Ruth Dyson swans about the place talking in self-congratulatory terms about her government and their international standing in respect of crime. It is bull shit. And those people who sit there lapping it up because it affirms their own wonky world view and their modus operandi of denial are just as bad.

Heaven help us if we get another three years of these self-delusionists holding sway.