3000 troubled youth to get a Fresh Start

Nearly 3000 places will be created in programmes targeted to help young offenders, says Social Development and Employment Minister Paula Bennett.

‘Fresh Start for Young Offenders' includes military style activity camps, additional supervision with activity orders, drug and alcohol and mentoring programmes.

Today's announcement expands the scope and puts detail around the Fresh Start reforms announced earlier this year.

200 places will be created in new Court Supervised Camp Programmes aimed at motivating change in young offenders through adventure activities and community-based youth development programmes.

"We promised judges they would have a new range of options for dealing with young offenders, from those who have dabbled in criminal activity and could be diverted into positive activities, to those serious, repeat offenders who are on their last chance before ending up in an adult jail," Ms Bennett says.

A new Fresh Start Innovation Fund will encourage local approaches to the issue of youth offending, with around 230 places created.

One thousand structured activity programme places will give Police and Child Youth and Family more options for dealing with first-time, low-level child offending.

Ms Bennett says ‘Fresh Start for Young Offenders' has a much broader approach.

"This is about making the connections between young people who are bored and as a result act out and those who go on to commit crimes. We are putting in place more options to prevent them taking those next steps.

"In addition to the new tools for the courts, the package doubles the length of time young people can be kept in Child Youth and Family residences, so we can better treat the causes of their offending - like drug and alcohol problems.

"The $84.55 million package also funds the Break Away Package for School Holidays, with over 30,000 additional places in holiday programmes and a new Prime Minister's Youth Programme, which will use iconic Kiwis to help show at-risk young people that there are better paths their lives can take," Ms Bennett says.