There is a cultural class dimension of the ram raids and the Dairy violence we are seeing that is rarely investigated.
You have migrant Indian and Chinese workers working in Dairy’s and Bottle shops, many exploited by other Indian and Chinese permanent residents in NZ who are being violently assaulted and attacked by angry and alienated Polynesian and Māori youth who are the legacy of Key’s kids in cars and whose families were thrown out onto the streets thanks to the flawed Meth testing of State Houses while the white middle classes gasp in the suburbs (safely ensconced in their work from home privilege) demanding ‘something must be done’.
That’s NZ in a nutshell.
The Right are manipulating the Prison and Crime narrative.
They say the soft-on-crime-cuddle-a-crim Labour Party are fecklessly letting out 4000 prisoners while the crime rate soars.
They are not only confusing correlation as cause, they are ignoring how and why Labour gained those numbers in the first place.
When the National Party tightened Prison policy they allowed for non violent offenders to apply for home detention while in prison. All Labour did was provide assistance to the Prisoners eligible for that process to fill in the forms, because most of the prisoners are illiterate.
They aren’t skipping out the front gate and ram raiding Michael Hill Jewellers, they are on home detention and we put them on home detention because we know being inside prison is the best indication you are going to go back to prison!
70% reoffend after being released for two years!
They do that because Prison is a brutal, violent, corrupt, understaffed nightmare that is deeply traumatising and damaging for those who don’t pose a violent threat.
Only the worst are being kept in there, people whose actions are deeply damaging and all we are gaining is time inside where they can’t hurt the general public.
Our prison system is damaging, it takes angry hurt men and turns them into angrier monsters.
That’s why you want them out of prison!
So why is our crime rate soaring?
Let’s be honest, some certainly are sawing off their ankle bracelet and joining the Frey, but that is a single digit minority, not anywhere near what is generating the current crime wave.
What is generating the current crime wave is the same thing that is generating crime waves throughout the post-covid Western World.
The same is happening in Australia, UK, Canada and America.
Polling for the Mental Health Foundation found 36 per cent of people surveyed were experiencing poor emotional wellbeing, up from 27 per cent a year ago.
Add to all of this stress the enormous jump in rents and cost of living crisis and you have desperation, anxiety, anger and fear all combining into the current maelstrom.
Of course every effort must be taken to catch every perpetrator and have them dealt appropriately through Youth Court processes or social agencies, but understanding these ram raids are the psychological and economic symptom of a deeper malaise that is running through post-Peak Covid NZ is a far greater starting point in terms of decision making than allowing our fear and anger dictate policing policy that might make things worse.
Post covid societal and economic stresses causing crime waves at the same time there is 12.4% food inflation and a cost of living crisis while surviving the ongoing economic, cultural and social impacts of climate crisis storms and geopolitical shockwaves is as predictable as National having to walk something back 24 hours after Luxon says it!
Of course crime is exploding everywhere because the covid sacrifice was felt unevenly across our unequal society, pretending building more fucking prisons is a solution to all of that is sophistry at its most intellectually bankrupt.
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Martyn – The rot started under the 1984 Labour Government…
Indeed. Replicating rust-belt Detroit all over the world has built the new utopia for billionaires, brought to you by the neo-liberal globalists.
You didn’t see this when we had high-wage domestic industry, the Full Employment Policy, universal trade union membership, and they hadn’t yet shut down most of the mental wards.
+100
Agree
Well put.
True. The only other government in living memory that equals or exceeds the current one in terms of damage done to the country.
True
It’s not just the right, virtually anyone with an ounce of common sense bar gaslighting Ministers in Labour and the entire Green Party have had a guts full of crime and lawlessness. I actually think Hipkins was oblivious to it, hence his casual – who cares – pick of the awful Ginny Anderson!
Regardless its certainly not all on Chippy, Labours policy seeds are now reaping the poisoned fruit good intentioned hopelessly naive beliefs sowed.
And seriously, why not reform the prisons? Because Labour are too incompetent to do it. So plan A was to empty them instead with all the innocent collateral damage that never stops taking.
Crime is highly profitable and for the youth especially, its been purposely made to be practically consequence free. It’s that simple. Those young criminals know it’s wrong but don’t care.
Solving economics is not the responsibility of of the poor. It is the responsibility of the wealthy. Billion dollar prisons is the solution of incompotent leadership.
And that is why tax entities pay taxes to enable government to do what is required to create a decent society.
Voters are ultimately responsible for the choices that politicians make. Voters reward and sanction them based on the outcomes they create.
What BS, sure it costs money to keep these criminal filth in prison where they belong, if they are out causing crime this also costs money. So for value for money keep the criminal scum in prison and there wont be re offending. Its not fucking rocket science.
100% Correct
Bullshit
White collar crime is highly profitable as is money laundering and the latter was highly prevalent when John Key was our PM.
That is interesting.
Can you direct me to the source.
THE Panama Papers for starters would be a good start.
Well aware of that. I found now trend reported anywhere.
I would chuffed if we have changed that curve.
Context: We should all be concerned when things are trending in the wrong direction.
He’s been in denial, not realising that’s a river in Africa..
Ginny Anderson is blaming Covid. No Ginny, it’s your party’s law and order policies! She is quite the gaslighter, isn’t she?
How? Policy to deal with crime is actually driving crime? There has been nothing said from ACT and National that will reduce crime. Do you seriously think building more prisons will reduce crime rates? So these flash new prisons will be empty then?
Solving crime isn’t premintive and niether is it and niether is it solved as if only a particular piece of paper was written so wonderfully and beautifully well.
Solving crime is just the really fucken long way around to economic propsperity no thanks to John Key.
Come on wheel, Labour’s law and order policy was written on a sheet of plywood, and it’s on show, everywhere!
So you clearly think NatAct have something other than plywood. Where is it? Again prisons are not the answer to reducing crime, they are the evidence that we can’t. I am not arguing against prisons I am just saying David Seymour does not have an answer to crime reduction.
Labour have encouraged crime by employing their favourite policy of doing nothing.
I beg to differ Martyn. They are a feral underclass which are the result of an indulgent society who tolerate indolence and inter generational welfarism with no consequences for anti-social behaviours and attitudes. We have reaped what we have allowed our politicians to sew.
If what you reckon were true crime rates would have spiked at similar rates through out time. So no one can take your word for it. There’s something else going on and Martyn is much closer to the truth than your states. Post your states or run away. Don’t care.
The safest decades in NZ were the ones after both World Wars. When a large proportion of the adult male population were both professionaly trained and experienced in using lethal force – & had easy access to firearms.
That safety and security was underpinned by the fact that we had just destroyed half the world productivity given the west a joyous 50% share of global GDP which has shrunk to 17% today. You ought to hide your face coming up with bullshit theory like because because ferals indulge in welfare we have to construct prisons and cut welfare because it’s the right thing to do. You ought to drum yourself out and hide your user name.
You mean like Stanley Graham? That went well.
People have access to firearms now. Or are you saying a shotgun is not a deterrent, it has to be an automatic rifle? Bollocks
Robbie implies that you need more than guns to get men who are capable and experienced at using these to harm people to start harming people.
I said “…after the two WWs”, ie. not 1941.
No I just don’t think that machine guns in civilian hands is a very good way of protecting human rights, Or is a very good reason to control constitutional reform.
Robbie the reason a safer community was perceived after the 2 wars was because many of our young men were dead before their time. Boys went to work, teenagers didn’t exist , this was a construct of the 60’s adding a label to a group of youngsters to make money by selling records etc.
Not so – I posit that our increase in crime; especially aggravated robbery, gang related crime and domestic abuse correlate with the liberalisation of attitudes and the removal of our societal contract with each other and the government. Suggest you read some of Nigel Latta’s books – broken people stem from broken childhoods and the ideology of a no responsibility approach to social welfare is the root cause of that.
Do you mean, Nigel Latte, the genius of “Covid is no worse than the flu, you racists!” Twitter fame? Um….OK…
+100
We need a specialist Police Group to target these Ram Raiders and shoot them if necessary, this might act as a deterrant to others. The lack of Police out at night is amazing when most of this activity is taking place.
I understand that we know who they are, where they live and why they are doing what they are doing. Why shoot them when there are more humane ways of dealing with them.
Fuck it. Nevermind prisons let’s just shot everyone. What a wonderful and incredibly redeeming idea.
I’d be worried if someone who couldn’t spell shoot was in my lynch mob sam
sam with a capital “S”
Reading and writing isn’t the most desirable attribute of a lynch mod.
as you say sam, as you say
Maybe it’s a reflection of today’s society? Everybody is in it for themselves?
Maybe it’s just the way it is now with 27,000 homeless peeps and fuck all houses being built. 11.2% unemployed as well as schools expelling students after the 31 March every year so that they can claim the funding for the yoof for that year.
Loads of go-no-where training where they get loaded up with debt for the privilege.
So maybe it’s just that society is just a bit fucked up? Maybe?
There is well over $800m every year going into the pockets of so-called contracting providers of services for the yoof, the NEETS, to get them work ready etc…but those same providers cream it for 6 months and then dump them and go and get another one and starts again. 181-day contract for $13k-$16k times 50 to 250 yoofs at a time is money for jam says a west Auckland provider of these types of services.
Good points raised ,Tane.
While the various parties are blaming each other, what does the science say?
>Predominantly these offenders will be from single parent homes.
>Their solo mums will have subsisted on DPB since they were born.
> There’s a high chance they experienced a combination of abuse or neglect as babies or infants.
> Some will have Fetal Alcohol Syndrome or were meth babies.
> Most will have dropped out of our not-so-world-class education system.
The damage is done for this generation. Not much can fix these people at this late stage. Better build more prisons! 🙁
But we must urgently address the root causes before this country completely runs off the tracks.
We can blame both major parties. One for being wrapped up in a failed ideology and the other for being weak and indecisive when in government.
A. Do you know that the largest group of beneficiaries are not Maori, PI … brown folks. Its pakeha!
All we’ve heard is the reports and stats for brown folks. Not the white folks. So that means your hypothesis is wrong, or because of your bigotry, you prove the counterfactual!
Andrews argument expresses no view on race or group.
I therefore, fail to understand your logic in calling him out for bigotry.
Sure, but let’s talk about the next generation (and the last few). Why did none of this matter before?
Justice Higgins ruled one unskilled wage must be enough to sustain a couple and three children, eventually granted to all under the Full Employment Policy.
That rate has since collapsed in real terms since 1970, and full employment abolished.
The global standard for mental wards was Ireland, which provided 710 beds per 100,000 residents.
Locally, this rate was slashed to the current 32 beds per 100,000.
I presume you’re including NZ Super.
Fool.
Sadly, I think that’s mostly accurate.
Oh hell no. Poverty is no god dam excuse for locking people up. You should be ashamed of yourself.
Sad but true.
Labour Government Policy of Soft on Crime is not working. Our Laws are not fit for the purpose. When you have youth committing crimes knowing they can not be prosecuted and being actively encouraged by their parents and their peer groups we actually have a problem which needs addressing. There is actually lawlessness out on the streets of Auckland and the woke in the Wellington Bubble have closed their eyes and minds to the problem.
Agreed. This Labour government to their credit recognised that locking the young up won’t solve the problems of recidivist crime, so their answer to it is being soft on crime, and not to build more prisons which means there is no room to put the growing criminal population. We all know the reasons for the crime wave. Social breakdown through lack of good housing, wages etc, and the lack of accountability for those perpetrating the crimes. I agree with National in that until you come up with the social solutions the rest of our population still has to be protected. If that means more prisons more police and more accountability from criminals until we find some solutions, so be it.
What actually is the soft on crime policy? That’s sounds like a National campaign point not an actual reality. Not putting youth in adult prisons? No government has gone there yet.
Wheel, every bodies favorite Labour sea lion.
We’re going to end up with our own version of Guiliani who will crack every skull until the crime stops.
If it’s not this way already then, very soon people will care a lot more about abruptly stopping this kind of criminal behaviour by whatever means necessary than the historical or contemporary factors that contribute to it occuring.
If people continue to act like negative racial stereotypes, those stereotypes aren’t going to disappear, and acting in that way does provide “confirmation” to those spouting racist views.
So let’s break those stereotypes, get an education, get skills, get a job, don’t get pregnant (or impregnate others), get married, have fewer children, spend wisely, save for the future, don’t commit crimes, help others in your community & use sunscreen. Be a role model, not a stereotype.
Homelessness,poverty,poor education system,overloaded health system etc,etc,all made worse by this incompetent Labour Government is the root cause.Add to that meaningless penalties for breaking the law.Crime is now an occupation in New Zealand like many other difunctional countries.
So Bob did you just admit things were shit when they got in? “Made worse”
Admit things were not good but more importantly they are now at crisis level.
Labour Government went into the elections promising to fix things but instead made everything worse.They were and are dishonest.
Homelessness is clearly better, so that blows your argument out of the water.
Charles with respect you are misguided.
There are now more homeless in New Zealand than in any time in our history.
The right can exploit this issue because Labour for the last several years did nothing to change anything and make it better. Complain about Labour first for their utter failure to keep EVERONE safe and not just a few select.
You can blame National all you like, and ACT for tht matter too, but this shit is happening under Labour, a labour MP is minister for Police, a Labour MP is minister for corrections, a Labour MP is minister for social welfare, a labour MP is minister for housing, a Labour MP is minister for education, in fact the current Government is 100% Labour. They did that well in the last election.
And they give their voters this shit, daily, again and again and again.
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2023/05/auckland-family-with-newborn-baby-calls-for-police-to-do-more-after-home-burgled-three-times-in-two-days.html?amp_js_v=0.1
Labour is killing itself with inaction and and a down right insulting ‘ can’t give a fuck’ attitude and an increase of 14 million per the last budget to increase security for themselves and their costly and expensive houses.
national gets to exploit that because Labour is missing in action and can’t give a fuck, after all they got theirs and that is all that matters.
C’mon Comrade, change my mind that Labour actually cares about anything else but getting elected to a 6 figure job with perks for life.
This Labour Government has penalised most New Zealanders but the hardest penalised are those at the bottom.The very people they purport to represent.
“You can blame National all you like” yes by the end of the year you will be able to. And about three years after that I imagine.
That is the sad end of this fucked up stories, both Parties don’t care. You care, I care he/she/they care but these empty elected suits don’t. If they did, we would have a better solution for helping this lost Covid generation of kids. But i guess kicking down the can is a bipartisan activity.
They do that because Prison is a brutal, violent, corrupt, understaffed nightmare that is deeply traumatising and damaging for those who don’t pose a violent threat
Do the crime do the time. Bunch of self entitled, I am the victim losers.
Good analysis. Inequity aversion or perceived unfairness, is a key precipitant for anger in the cognitive behaviour theory of human psychology, together with with the evolutionary fight/flight response.
The vast majority of poor people don’t commit crimes. Those young offenders are choosing to go on ram raids but thankfully most other poor youth choose not to.
I spoke with a Police Sargeant after our car was broken into about 4 years ago. He said there’s around 120 youth criminals in the Hutt Valley causing 90% of the trouble. That’s probably true across the whole country, 20% doing 80% of the offending.
Lock em up, throw away the key until they decide to partake in rehab and turn their life around.
Yep and sadly most of the anti social crime committed is in the suburbs of those most vulnerable and suffering the most from the cost of living crisis and can least afford there car or tools of work stolen, there houses broken into, there kids intimidated and bashed and local playgrounds reserves vandalised by shitfaced little hood rats
Sad but true.
Well said Mark Bowie.
Well, the ‘catch and release’ system is not working and will lose the election for Labour.
Obviously we have a huge disconnect between the Police, Government, the Judiciary, Social Services and the Corrections Department. We know what the problems are, we know who are causing the problems, we know why they are causing these problems but we are not doing anything to solve the problems. Millions and millions of $$$’s are being spent going round and round in circles. All this proves is the total incompetence of all the parties involved. I don’t have much faith in National ACT or NZF doing any better as they purely pay lip service to the problems. It requires an integrated approach by all parties concerned, otherwise we take a hard line and get the military involved and sort these delinquents out.
The state houses are better than the rental market/ housing for sale. So can’t be the housing.
Martyn for some 2-3 years I have followed and read your blog site and largely found it interesting, informative and entertaining. One trend that has been noticeable for some time now is how often your views appear out of step with those who comment. I’m wondering how that makes you feel as someone who holds and promotes quite black and white views and presumably someone seeking to influence social thought. Maybe those generally supportive of your views don’t feel the need to respond/comment? Just a thought. Keep it up.
People commenting are also seeking to influence social thought, & to do that you have to step outside your echo chamber.
Definitely more balanced on TDB than Kiwiblog IMHO.
It’s the curriculum dummy!
My dear local Four Square has many photos up of people who stole from them. All Maori. After Robertson’s benefit increases I thought of asking them to take them down.
What do you get when you ignore the neediest for 40 years? ‘Kindness’ bullshit the last 6 years. You get people not buying into society. A lot of Maori. And, shit, it hasn’t been good for them the last 180 years.
The Freemarket was as much about leaving the neediest behind as it was about giving the rich free rein to supposedly create wealth.
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