Sergeant Karen Vaughan from Porirua District Court
For several years a pilot youth justice initiative has been running in Porirua, is to be replicated in Gisborne and Hamilton, and then nationwide. It is unique to NZ and has attracted a lot of interest from overseas.
Who knew? Well, we do now, since Sergeant Karen Vaughan addressed us last evening. She is the police prosecutor in the Porirua District Court, following a career in which she was involved in a string of high-profile cases, including child abuse and family violence.
The pilot stems from unease among some judges that young offenders’ lives can become blighted after they are convicted of relatively minor offences. Cognitive development is not complete until age 25 or so, and many offenders in the youth court have just been thoughtless or foolish. They could, with help, go on to lead productive lives. The key is to discharge them without conviction under section 106, under certain conditions.
The offenders must be under 25, and agree to a follow a personal plan which might involve education, training (eg defensive driving), counselling, and community work.
The rationale is that intervention, prevention, and integration back into the community benefits everyone.
The pilot has been running for over 2 years, during which time there have been 500 cases in the pilot programme, and recidivism is less than 1%.
We should follow the fortunes of this pilot closely. It is an alternative to the ‘lock ‘em up’ policy which often finds popular support in NZ, and if it works across the board, we will all profit by it.
Poll: Should drivers retake the theory test every 10 years?
Drivers get where they need to go, but sometimes it seems that we are all abiding by different road rules (for example, the varying ways drivers indicate around a roundabout).
Do you think drivers should be required to take a quick driving theory test every 10 years?
Vote in the poll and share any road rules that you've seen bent! 😱
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48.1% Yes
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50% No
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1.9% Other - I'll share below
Here's Thursday's thinker!
I am lighter than air, but a hundred people cannot lift me. What am I?
Do you think you know the answer to our daily riddle? Don't spoil it for your neighbours! Simply 'Like' this post and we'll post the answer in the comments below at 2pm.
Want to stop seeing riddles in your newsfeed?
Head here and hover on the Following button on the top right of the page (and it will show Unfollow) and then click it. If it is giving you the option to Follow, then you've successfully unfollowed the Riddles page.
Here's Wednesday's whodunit!
I am heavy forward, but backward, I’m not. What am I?
Do you think you know the answer to our daily riddle? Don't spoil it for your neighbours! Simply 'Like' this post and we'll post the answer in the comments below at 2pm.
Want to stop seeing riddles in your newsfeed?
Head here and hover on the Following button on the top right of the page (and it will show Unfollow) and then click it. If it is giving you the option to Follow, then you've successfully unfollowed the Riddles page.
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