Waatea News Column: There actually is a silver bullet for truancy & ram raids

Nothing excites pundits and tough on crime commentators quite like young brown offenders ram raiding and skipping school.

There is a new cry in the air for harsher sentences, relaxing Police chase policy and punishing parents for the crimes of their children.

I appreciate the fear of crime and how unsettling such lawlessness can be, but we are adults in this country, and as such, it is our obligation and responsibility as adults to drive debate that isn’t reactionary and is focused more on de-escalation.

Especially now.

We have all collectively gone through a universal unique experience with this Covid pandemic, it has thrown our certainty and agency out the window while creating intense economic pressure and psychological stress.

This pressure and stress are impacting all of us in different ways and that certainly goes for our most vulnerable kids.

We need compassion, not anger.

Many of these kids are already known to social services, there isn’t a need to escalate Police chase policy when you know who you are looking for.

Truancy can be countered by providing free lunches and breakfasts at school and using our schools as true access points to wider social services. Make it illegal for businesses to employ school-age children during school hours so that they can’t feed on exploitable labour.

Design shop fronts with more concrete bollards.

Do everything and anything to show these kids some support and empathy with clear funding to prevent lives lost to crime and anger.

This is when we need to step up as a community to provide a counterweight to the cry from the angry mob, especially when that angry mob has a long history of lashing out at young brown offenders more harshly.

Our most vulnerable kids need our help, not our denouncement.

First published on Waatea News.