11. Question No. 11—JusticeVANUSHI WALTERS (Labour—Upper Harbour) to the Minister of JusticeQuestion No. 11—Justice11. VANUSHI WALTERS (Labour—Upper Harbour) to the Minister of Justice: What progress has the Government made in cracking down on youth offending?Hon GINNY ANDERSEN (Minister of Justice): The current level of youth offending is unacceptable. While the actions we've taken to date are working for the majority of young people we know there is more work to do with a small group of repeat offenders. The bill I introduced last week which will be read for the first time today will introduce a new offence for ram raids. It also introduces new aggravating factors for adults who use young people to commit crimes and those posting their crimes on social media. It's completely unacceptable that a victim of a crime may be retraumatised by seeing it posted online. This also sends a strong message to those who post their crimes online in a bid to gain notoriety that they can now face tougher consequences.Vanushi Walters: What impact is the Government's policies having on ram raid offending?Hon GINNY ANDERSEN: One ram raid is one ram raid too many but I am encouraged that ram raids are down by two-thirds since their peak in August last year and have more than halved since the first full month after I became Minister of Police in March. Interventions like Kotahi te Whakaaro have been working. Nearly 80 percent of children going through the Government's fast-track programme for children who have committed serious offences have not reoffended. That's a stark contrast to other parties' proposals such as boot camps which have an 80 percent reoffending rate and which the former Chief Science Advisor simply said don't work.Vanushi Walters: How does the bill provide tools to the justice system to deal with young offenders?Hon GINNY ANDERSEN: The new ram raid offence enables 12- and 13-year-olds alleged to have committed a ram raid to be charged now in the Youth Court like other serious offences such as aggravated burglary. Other measures that have been effective in breaking the cycle of offending include the Better Pathways Package to improve education employment opportunities; and the fast-track programmes which respond to serious offending by children and young people. This new offence will not be the first port of call for first-time ram-raiders. This is for a small group of repeat offenders where earlier interventions simply have not been working. This bill closes that gap.Vanushi Walters: What other steps is the Government taking to support communities affected by ram raid offending?Hon GINNY ANDERSEN: The Government is committed to improving the safety for small retailers through the Retail Crime Prevention Programme which has seen more than 2266 security interventions installed around 586 retailers such as bollards CCTV upgrades alarms and roller doors. We've also supported businesses through the fog cannon subsidy scheme which has seen 1995 installations completed and even more approved and in progress. We know that ram raid offending causes significant property damage and harm to victims and their livelihoods. I am determined to get on top of this destructive behaviour and ensure young offenders face the consequences of their actions.