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Paper 2: Crime Prevention

Proposal

1. This paper identifies primary, secondary and tertiary interventions that offer promising approaches to preventing crime. These are: early interventions to support vulnerable children, and their families/whānau; reducing youth offending; addressing persistent or prolific offending; and situational crime prevention.

Executive summary

2. This paper proposes options to prevent crime and hence reduce the future demand for prison beds.

3. Interventions to prevent and reduce crime can be regarded as:

• primary prevention: preventing circumstances and behaviours that give rise to offending;
• secondary prevention: preventing the escalation or entrenchment of these circumstances and behaviours; and
• tertiary prevention: addressing factors that reduce recidivism.

4. This paper outlines the following interventions for preventing and reducing crime:

Prevention level	Intervention
Primary	Early intervention for vulnerable children, their families/whānau, e.g. intensive home visiting, therapeutic interventions for conduct disorder, parenting support, specialised support, such as for teenage parents and their children, or for parents/children with disabilities.
Secondary	Intervening early with young offenders, e.g. youth justice programmes, integrated case management.
Tertiary	Addressing persistent or prolific offending, e.g. intensive surveillance, swift response strategies, intensive rehabilitation.

5. The paper also outlines proposals to fund further situational crime prevention initiatives.

6. Primary prevention, through early intervention for vulnerable children and young people, can ultimately contribute to crime prevention as well as other positive outcomes. Addressing child and family risk factors, and providing a comprehensive range of remedial services, has huge benefits across a range of social and economic domains and is cost effective. This paper proposes a six-year, cross-government investment plan, which progressively expands existing child and family support services, to create a strong continuum of early intervention services. This will be the primary prevention strategy for addressing criminal offending.

7. Secondary prevention focuses on reducing repeat youth offending to lessen the likelihood of young people becoming persistent, life-long offenders. Recent commitments have been made to increase the capability and capacity of care and protection, and youth justice services, and to enhance the tools and systems available to front-line staff. These will make important contributions to crime prevention. Work is also proceeding on sentencing options for youth offenders, and on a Youth Justice Provider Development Strategy.

8. Tertiary prevention, which addresses persistent or prolific offending, requires co-ordinated, inter-agency action. An intensive, wrap-around approach is proposed that is highly targeted and provides social support services to individuals, and their families/whānau, by addressing underlying causes of crime as well as offending.

9. Situational crime prevention initiatives focus on making crime more difficult to commit and less worthwhile. Such initiatives can reduce violent and other serious offending and thus the demand for prison beds. The extension of existing situational crime prevention initiatives is proposed.

10. s.9(2)(f)(iv)

Comment

Introduction

11. Crime prevention initiatives to address the underlying drivers of criminal offending complement proposals elsewhere in this suite of papers to reduce the forecast growth in the prison population.

12. Considerable work is already being done by agencies to prevent crime. This paper builds on current work with a comprehensive three-level approach.

13. Criminality affects families/whānau and communities, as well as individuals. Lack of employment, reduced ability to provide family support, and potential for inter-generational disadvantage, require interventions to address not only the needs of individual offenders, but also those of their families/whānau and communities. The proposals outlined address the underlying causes of crime, which offer long-term potential for reducing disparities, such as over-representation of Māori and Pacific peoples in the criminal justice system.

14. In this paper, these evidence-based initiatives are categorised as:

• primary prevention: preventing circumstances and behaviours that give rise to offending;
• secondary prevention: preventing the escalation or entrenchment of these circumstances and behaviours; and
• tertiary prevention: addressing factors that contribute to recidivism.

15. Further details on current and proposed situational crime prevention initiatives are included in Appendix D. Specific programmes will require monitoring to ensure they are achieving the outcomes sought.

Early Intervention

Benefits of early intervention

16. New Zealand and international research shows that children and young people with multiple risk factors are much more likely to progress to offending behaviour. These factors affect early well-being and provide a poor quality foundation for later life. Addressing them requires comprehensive, cross-agency action. Māori and Pacific peoples are more likely than other ethnic groups to experience the risk factors that contribute to criminal offending.

17. A large body of evidence shows that intervening early in life provides the greatest opportunity to change the life-course of children at risk of poor health, educational and social outcomes, and later criminal offending. This is reflected in the Crime Reduction Strategy. Addressing early conduct disorder is especially important given the clear evidence of associations between early conduct problems, crime (particularly violent crime), and imprisonment.

18. Early interventions are cost-effective. Cost-benefit studies of a number of American programmes show that returns for every public dollar invested in early intervention services can range from $3.00 initially, to $17.00 when participants are followed into adulthood. Such findings suggest similar financial gains can be made in New Zealand. Evaluation of New Zealand's Early Start home visiting programme has shown positive effects on a range of child outcomes, including reduced rates of externalising and internalising behaviour problems, both of which can lead to criminal behaviour.

Building the early intervention system for children aged 0 to 6 years

19. Early intervention can contribute to helping all children in New Zealand to have the best start in life, to flourish in early childhood, and to reach their potential. Evidence suggests this can be achieved through building an early intervention system with the following components:

• Universal services to help all families/whānau raise their children, such as Well Child, Strategies with Kids - Information for Parents (SKIPS), and Kohanga Reo. All families need access to services and community-based support networks, but those families in vulnerable circumstances, who have the most to gain, often need help to ensure access.
• Targeted services that meet additional needs with effective co-ordination and referral mechanisms. These include services for vulnerable groups of children and their families/whānau, such as service co-ordinators for teenage parents and their children, and services for children/parents with disability.
• Intensive remedial services when children continue to be vulnerable to poor outcomes. These are intensive services designed to be responsive to the complex circumstances in the lives of vulnerable children. These include services for children and their families/whānau with complex needs, such as Family Start, therapeutic services for children with conduct disorder, and Strengthening Families.

20. The Government already invests in services for children and their families/whānau, such as improving access to health care and early childhood education, Working for Families, and locally-designed programmes such as iwi-based programmes (see Appendix A for current interventions provided early in life).

21. While these initiatives provide a strong platform on which to build, more can be done to improve provision and coverage of key early years services, ensure effective service delivery, and improve system capacity and capability. This paper proposes the development of a comprehensive, cross-sectoral, community-based, family-focused, sustainable, early intervention system, by making investments at national, regional, and local levels.

Improving provision and coverage of key early years services

22. Improving the provision and coverage of key early years services will be achieved by developing an evidence-based, well-informed and ongoing service that is well-targeted. Specifically, this requires that the service be effectively delivered, well-resourced and well-funded.

The six-year programme of action

23. Elements of the early intervention system are already in place. The challenge now is to leverage off what is already there. A six-year period is required to build a comprehensive early intervention system with the following key components.

24. To improve provision and coverage of key early years services it is proposed to:

• develop a continuum of community-based, universal, targeted, and intensive remedial services to fill gaps in service provision, particularly for vulnerable families;
• assess children at key life stages. The Well Child review and the proposed school readiness checks will be used as opportunities to identify vulnerability and ensure children receive the necessary services at the appropriate level of intensity;
• extend parent support and education programmes (such as SKIP and Toddlers without Tears) that build parents' capability, support secure attachment, and help improve outcomes for children;
• increase funding for therapeutic interventions for children with emerging conduct disorder, to reduce the incidence of later serious anti-social behaviour leading to criminal offending. This will form part of the Interagency Plan for Severe Antisocial Behaviour; and
• implement a phased roll-out of home visiting programmes (such as Family Start/Early Start) to meet the goal that children in the most vulnerable 15 percent of New Zealand families/whānau will receive support to enhance family functioning.

25. To ensure effective delivery of services it is proposed to:

• increase the number of points of access to services (such as schools, homes, workplaces, and cultural facilities) for the most vulnerable families/whānau who often have difficulty engaging with mainstream services. Services such as Social Workers in Schools (currently in approximately 33 percent of Decile 1 to 5 schools), and iwi-based social services, provide points of access for otherwise disengaged children and their families;
• support better service co-ordination and integration (such as through early years service hubs and early childhood education parent support centres) so that vulnerable families/whānau have easy access to the continuum of early years services in their local community;
• provide integrated case management (such as Strengthening Families) to families/whānau with multiple and complex needs to help them raise their children; and
• support the delivery of services that use strengths-based practices to encourage and support access by vulnerable families/whānau, such as those with teenage parents, or parents/children with disabilities. Families/whānau will be involved in decision-making, helped to address their needs, and supported to be independent.

26. To improve system capacity and capability it is proposed to:

• support communities to identify their service needs (such as through Local Services Mapping) and develop locally responsive services, including services for Māori and Pacific peoples, so that all families/whānau can access a continuum of early years services when they require them;
• strengthen national, regional and local service co-ordination through governance and management systems, and collaboration between government agencies, NGOs and community groups. This will ensure decision-making occurs as close as possible to families/whānau. Strengthening Families will be a key mechanism for achieving this;
• design a sustainable funding path that reflects the nature and composition of the family support services NGO sector. This will provide a sound funding base to meet the increasing demand for (and complexities of) services, and minimise compliance and transaction costs. This work will form part of the Roadmap for Strengthening NGO Social Services;
• build a family support services workforce that is appropriately qualified and of sufficient capacity to meet the needs of vulnerable children and families/whānau. This will include addressing recruitment, training and retention issues, including provisions for Māori and Pacific peoples, and will form part of the NGO Family Support Services Workforce Programme for Action; and
• provide the family support services NGO sector with access to information, practical support, and resources to help them run their organisations efficiently and effectively. This will include access to resources similar to that provided for small- and medium-sized enterprises by NZ Trade and Enterprise.

27. This broadly-based, cross-government investment plan will progressively expand services to meet needs and address gaps in current service provision. Significant investment is required to ensure all vulnerable children and families/whānau have access to services that meet their needs. This will be the primary prevention strategy for addressing New Zealand's criminal offending.

Reducing youth offending

28. Early intervention will reduce the need for secondary prevention. However, services to address emerging criminal behaviour will still be required. While the most cost-effective interventions occur early in life, quality interventions at a later stage can also be cost-effective.

29. High-risk young offenders are those young people who begin offending early, offend at high rates and often very seriously, and are likely to continue offending into adulthood. This group of offenders often exhibit early conduct disorder, and are frequently characterised by major personal, family and social concerns. Strong links between care and protection services and youth justice services will support early intervention for children with conduct disorder and those who are persistent offenders.

30. International research indicates that young people assessed as higher-risk offenders benefit most from intensive rehabilitative interventions, and that the intensity of services should be proportional to the offender's level of risk. Successful interventions are those which teach new skills (such as managing impulsive behaviours), strengthen families, target and meet the right criminogenic needs, and provide multiple-component, intensive interventions.

31. Care and protection and youth justice services are provided by Child, Youth and Family Services (CYF). These services seek, amongst other things, to reduce re-offending by young people, thereby contributing to reducing the flow through of young offenders into the adult justice system. A recent review identified capacity and capability gaps in these services. Subject to approval by Cabinet, the Ministry of Social Development (MSD) has made available $9.8 million in 2006/07 to fund additional front-line staff and the tools and systems to assist them with their work. Beyond 2006/07, funding may be found from re-prioritisation, or through Budget processes.

32. The focus of the $9.8 million funding will be on improving the capability of CYF to deliver quality youth justice services, and on improving CYF's capacity to meet the increased demand for services. Funds will enable CYF to: respond to additional demand for youth justice services; complete and implement the recently released Youth Justice Capability Review; continue a dedicated youth justice service development team; review and develop youth justice polices and procedures; and continue a re-focused Reducing Youth Offending Programme (RYOP) pilot.

33. In a recent report to youth justice Ministers, reviewing sentencing options in the youth jurisdiction [REP/06/01/17], officials noted that the highest priority area for action in the short to medium term is increasing the number of effective youth justice programmes to support the current range of Youth Court orders. The comparatively low level of use by judges of community-based supervision, and supervision with activity orders, appears to be related to a lack of programme development/provision in the community.

34. To address this concern, CYF is developing a Youth Justice Provider Development Strategy. The objectives of this strategy include identifying gaps in programmes and services at the local level, and working with providers to improve service delivery. The Ministry of Justice's Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Group and MSD have also commissioned a national stock-take of current government-funded youth justice services and programmes.

35. Evidence shows that a multi-faceted and co-ordinated approach across agencies, and in partnership with communities, is the most effective way to enhance services, ensure sufficient service capacity, and improve service linkages. This whole-of-government approach has been successfully adopted to address the youth gang issues in South Auckland, an area with high numbers of Māori and Pacific peoples.

36. To further the collaborative approach in South Auckland, a five-year action plan is being finalised. This will support young people to achieve positive outcomes, and reduce youth offending and re-offending. A key component is an integrated case management model. The action plan will also address workforce implications, and consider the wider implementation of several South Auckland youth programmes such as Genesis and Turn Your Life Around, which are regarded as effective.

Addressing persistent or prolific offending

37. A small group of offenders account for a large proportion of offences and occupy a large proportion of prison beds.

38. Intervening early with prolific or persistent offenders can reduce the incidence of future violent offending. Serious violent offenders typically have a history of non-violent offending over several years before committing their first serious violent offence. People who commit serious offences typically have very disrupted backgrounds. Their criminal behaviour is deep-seated and reinforced by their environments. Repeated intensive treatment, supported by co-ordinated interventions to address social and health needs, is required to reduce re-offending or to prevent it through intervening early. Even small reductions in re-offending rates make these treatments worthwhile. These treatments not only reduce the demand for future prison beds, but have a wide range of social and economic benefits for victims, families/whānau, and communities.

39. The risk of relapse for prolific or persistent offenders is high. Intensive surveillance and swift responses are needed to complement intensive rehabilitation. The earlier treatment is given in the developmental cycle, the less expensive it will be, and the greater the chance of success. However, targeting effectively and maintaining gains is challenging.

40. A co-ordinated, inter-agency approach is required for dealing with prolific offending. There are currently a range of agency initiatives that focus on particular sub-groups of offenders, such as youth and family violence perpetrators. There are also locally-initiated, single-agency driven initiatives, but there is currently no nationally co-ordinated approach for dealing with general prolific offending.

41. Officials recommend developing an initiative based on the successful Blackpool Tower Project in the United Kingdom, and the recently established Hot Families initiative in Canterbury, New Zealand, that:

• targets the families/whānau of the highest-risk prolific offenders in specific localities;
• provides intensive and co-ordinated interventions to tackle these families' social needs (e.g. accommodation, employment assistance, benefit support, parenting skills and early childhood education) and their health needs (especially drug and alcohol treatments and mental health support); and
• acts decisively where people continue to offend despite the supports that are offered (for example by arresting offenders and providing speedy referral to the Courts).

See Appendix C for more details.

42. This approach gives prolific offenders a simple choice: "You can access all the necessary components for you to live a crime and drug free life or if you refuse help and there is intelligence that you are committing crime, police proactive activity will concentrate on you."[1]

43. The effects on prison beds cannot be quantified, but this approach will reinforce the impact of other proposed initiatives in these papers.

44. It is recommended that the Ministry of Justice and Police (joint lead) develop a co-ordinated, inter-agency initiative for tackling persistent or prolific offending as outlined above, including a detailed implementation timescale and identification of implications for Māori and Pacific peoples, and report back to the Ministers of Justice and Police by s.9(2)(f)(iv).

Situational crime prevention

45. Situational crime prevention (SCP) departs from mainstream criminology in that it focuses on the settings for crime, rather than upon those committing the crimes (see Appendix D). It also focuses on preventing the occurrence of crime, rather than on detecting and punishing offenders. SCP programmes can significantly reduce crime by increasing the effort of crime and risk of detection, and by reducing the anticipated rewards. These programmes also enhance individuals' and communities' perceptions of safety.

46. The Crime Prevention Unit of the Ministry of Justice has implemented a number of SCP initiatives, based on the results of overseas initiatives. The Unit has funded violence and burglary reduction programmes by local authorities, and has also funded Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) initiatives. Examples include:

• Christchurch Community Violence Reduction Project;
• Greenmount East Tamaki Business Association Burglary Reduction Project;
• CPTED initiatives in Waitakere, Henderson, New Lynn and Glen Eden; and
• Target Hardening Programme in seven Auckland areas.

47. International SCP programmes have demonstrated reductions in crime. The expansion of SCP in New Zealand is recommended as it has the potential to produce similar results, which may result in fewer people being sent to prison.

Recommendations

48. It is recommended that the Cabinet Policy Committee:

1. direct the Ministries of Social Development (lead), Justice, Health and Education to develop a comprehensive package of early interventions to address the risk factors associated with crime and other poor outcomes, s.9(2)(f)(iv);

2. direct the Ministries of Social Development and Justice (joint lead) to prepare a comprehensive package of interventions to reduce youth offending in the medium term, s.9(2)(f)(iv) ;

3. direct the Ministry of Justice and Police (joint lead) to develop a co-ordinated, inter-agency initiative for tackling persistent or prolific offending, including a detailed implementation timescale and identification of implications for Māori and Pacific peoples, and report back to the Ministers of Justice and Police by s.9(2)(f)(iv);

4. s.9(2)(f)(iv)

Hon Mark Burton
Minister of Justice

On behalf of:

Hon Steve Maharey, Minister of Education
Hon Annette King, Minister of Police
Hon Pete Hodgson, Minister of Health
Hon David Benson-Pope, Minister for Social Development and Employment
Hon Ruth Dyson, Associate Minister for Social Development and Employment (Child, Youth and Family)
Hon Damien O'Connor, Minister of Corrections

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Footnotes

1. Blackpool Tower Project, Executive Summary, p.4: http://www.csp.blackpool.org.uk/Tower/02%20Tower%20Project%