7. Budget 2017—Social Investment Approach and Youth JusticeSARAH DOWIE (National—Invercargill) to the Minister responsible for Social InvestmentBudget 2017—Social Investment Approach and Youth Justice7. SARAH DOWIE (National—Invercargill) to the Minister responsible for Social Investment: How does Budget 17 support a social investment approach to Justice?Hon AMY ADAMS (Minister responsible for Social Investment): As part of the Government's $321 million social investment package that the Prime Minister announced earlier this month Budget 2017 provides an extra $46.8 million over the next 4 years to fund two new initiatives to support the Government's social investment approach to justice. The first is a $32.9 million burglary prevention initiative targeting those under 25. It helps to fund services to change offender behaviour and support victims. The second is a $13.9 million investment into 14- to 16-year-old offending over 4 years to help young people alter harmful behaviour increase self-control and reduce future offending.Sarah Dowie: What evidence is there to support these initiatives?Hon AMY ADAMS: Through the investment approach to justice which has been working on this for the past 18 months and which uses data to identify risk early and identify evidence-based interventions to reduce risk manage offending and reduce the number of victims the Government has been able to target intervention points to achieve the greatest results. Through our youth offending initiative we expect to reduce the number of estimated future offences by between 18 and 32 percent and make savings between $166 million and $347 million in justice services over the next 20 years. We know that robberies committed by those under 25 have been identified as one of the highest-risk groups for future offending and through the burglary prevention initiative we expect to reduce the number of recidivist offences by between 17 and 38 percent a year.Darroch Ball: Does she really think the social investment approach for youth justice after 9 years is working when between 2015 and 2016 the serious offending by teenagers has increased by 12 percent nationally teenage burglary is up by 13 percent teenage robbery is up by 40 percent teenage homicide is up by 40 percent and teenage sexual assault is up by 5 percent?Hon AMY ADAMS: Well what I would point out to that member is that the social investment approach is just getting under way and absolutely we believe it will significantly reduce reoffending. But what I can also tell the member is that while we have been in Government we have seen a reduction in youth crime of 38 percent—[Interruption] I know it does not suit the member's narrative but work with me here—a 38 percent reduction in youth offending and reductions in police apprehensions of young people of between 40 and 50 percent. The number of youth graduating into the adult court has halved while we have been in Government and the social investment approach will take it even further.Darroch Ball: Does she really think it is working when robberies committed by 15- to 19-year-olds in South Auckland are up by 80 percent in Canterbury are up by 67 percent in Northland are up by 55 percent in Waitematā are up by 45 percent and in southern are up by 45 percent and yet there has been a decrease in convictions in courts for that same age group over that same time period?Hon AMY ADAMS: We are very well aware that there has been a spike in robberies in recent times but what I would say to the member is twofold: first of all there has been a 49 percent reduction in the number of young people committing serious offences and the social investment approach is targeting exactly that. The difference with this Government is that we have the data the evidence base and now the funding to make a real difference about it.