Steering South Auckland kids away from a path to crime

A spate of ram raids by teenagers is fuelling concern about youth offending rates, but a youth worker in South Auckland says it's a very small group causing a lot of havoc. A crime prevention package was announced last week, including support for businesses to have bollards, security alarms or fog cannons installed, but Stephen Boxer says that doesn't address the real issue. He advocates for early intervention and prevention, and says targeting children displaying early warning signs of troubled behaviour will help avert them from a path towards youth offending. Stephen Boxer runs two youth programmes through the Graeme Dingle Foundation; MYND works as an intervention for teenagers aged 14 to 18 who are already offending, and Kiwi Tahi, for 8 to 12 year olds, workers with younger kids who haven't offended, but are considered at risk due to risk factors at home or in their community. Kathryn speaks to Stephen Boxer, managing director of MYND and Kiwi Tahi about the importance of reaching kids while they're young.