My Account
An Ōrewa parent whose 14-year-old daughter was threatened by a group of teens recently wants parents and the wider community to be aware of this behaviour and to call Police when needed.
Kirsty Guy says her daughter and her friends were ganged up on by around eight slightly older teens at Hibiscus Coast Bus Station in Silverdale on January 25. Violence was threatened if she did not hand over her sneakers.
“We lodged a complaint with the Police as she was traumatised by it and I felt it was important that the kids were held to account for their actions,” Guy says.
She says since the incident she has been contacted by local parents whose children have experienced similar threatening behaviour.
“How have we got to a place where kids roam the streets terrorising others and demanding their belongings,” she says. “I’m not prepared to accept that this is life in NZ now. I would like to think that if adults step up and report these incidents to the Police, and step in and help kids being terrorised as we see it happen, maybe we can reverse the occurrences of these terrifying experiences. As long as we accept that this is the norm, these kids will keep doing it and somebody’s child could end up badly hurt.”
“Our kids need to be able to carry on with their lives, without fear. I am confident that Police will catch these offenders. But what then? They get a talking to and they go straight back to what they were doing before.”
Waitematā North Acting Area Commander, Senior Sergeant Roger Small says Police are following positive lines of enquiry to determine who is responsible for this incident.
They are aware of reports from the Ōrewa community about groups of youths congregating in the town centre and, with this in mind, Police are patrolling the area.
Snr Sgt Small says highly trained Youth Aid officers work very closely with young people and their families to try and prevent offending.
“When it comes to penalties, several things must be considered, such as the sort of offence committed, if the young person has previously offended, and the likely chance of them re- offending,” he says. “Penalties range from a warning through to court and in some cases when young offenders have committed serious crimes, they can be sent to a youth prison, but this is very rare as this often does not help the young person long term or reduce the likelihood of reoffending. Youth plans often run for up to a year and may include punishment, education, mentoring and counselling.”
Snr Sgt Small says anecdotally, most of the young people who commit serious offences have complex family situations including family violence, drug abuse, dysfunction, and a lack of a positive role model in their lives.
“All of this will likely be a driver to their antisocial behaviour,” he says. “Given these complexities, Police continue to do our part while also supporting partner agencies in working with the young person, their family, local schools, and the community. All of us are working to ensure the young person has a productive life without reoffending.”
As enquiries into the Bus Station incident are ongoing, Police encourage anyone with information to contact them on the 105 phone service or at www.police.govt.nz/use-105, Update My Report, using reference file number 230125/6743.
Information can also be provided anonymously via Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111.
If an incident is happening now, call Police on 111.
