National Party leader Christopher Luxon is calling for greater accountability for persistent youth offenders following a halving of prosecutions of young people.

Speaking today at a dairy in Auckland that has been burgled three times in the past three months, Luxon said the young owner was doing everything right, working incredibly hard and incredibly stressed and in fear about receiving the next call.

"Labour just hasn't got the balance right ... the primary job of Government is to protect its citizens.

"We just clearly haven't got the appropriate consequences in place for serious offending," said Luxon.

Together with police spokesman Mark Mitchell and justice spokesman Paul Goldsmith, Luxon said the full range of tools for the youth justice system need to be applied right up to young offenders being locked up in youth facilities.

"Ram raids are up by 500 per cent. We have seen a halving of youth prosecutions," he said.

National Party leader Chistopher Luxon, flanked by police spokesman Mark Mitchell (left) and justice spokesman Paul Goldsmith, holds a press conference in Penrose, where superette owner Aamir Pathan has been ram-raided three times this year. Photo / Alex Burton

Luxon said at least 10 per cent of the types of ram raid offences are through patched gang members or associates and gangs are looking attractive for vulnerable people.

"We also need to use much more powerful targeted intervention, whether it's schools where there are high levels of truancy at the moment, powering up our community organisations to provide much better role models to people and the responsibility of parents to step up and do the parenting they are not doing at the moment," he said.

The owner of the Penrose dairy and post shop, who did not want to be named, has owned the business for a little over a year.

• National Party leader Christopher Luxon visits Seeka kiwifruit packhouse in Te Puke
• Winston Peters hits out at Trevor Mallard's posting to Ireland

"As a business owner I feel insecure. In the last few months what has happened seems like really normal now.

"When I bought the business I never thought like that, but now maybe new business owners wanting to go into retail will think of it as a big risk," he said.

A recent briefing to incoming police minister Chris Hipkins detailed how youth prosecutions had halved since 2017 with more referrals and non-court solutions being reached when young people broke the law.

In 2021, 64 per cent of youth offending was addressed through non-court action.

In the same year, more 15 to 19-year-olds were apprehended for burglary than any other age group, with 10 to 14-year-olds the second-highest age group.

The briefing identified "children who offend and serious and persistent offending by young people" as a priority.

"The number of young people in these cohorts is small, but they represent the most visible gap in our current model."

Many businesses, particularly in Tāmaki Makaurau, have been plagued by ram raids and smash and grab burglaries. Photo / Hayden Woodward

National justice spokesman Paul Goldsmith, supported by police spokesman Mark Mitchell, believed a stronger approach to repeat youth offenders was justified.

"National agrees that for minor and first-time offenders it's right to minimise contact with the formal justice system.

"But the pendulum has swung too far. Greater accountability is needed for serious repeat young offenders, and they need targeted support to move onto more positive pathways."

Luxon had travelled to Auckland today to speak about the issue with Penrose Superette owner who had been ram-raided three times this year.

Act Party leader David Seymour was also hot on the topic, asking for an explanation from Hipkins why some crime-hit businesses reportedly couldn't access the Government's $6 million fund for protective measures against ram raids and burglaries.

"Police decide what businesses are eligible and it seems that part of the criteria is that you have already been ram raided. So, to be eligible for protection from ram raids, you first have to be ram raided," he claimed.

Act leader David Seymour. Photo / Alex Burton

Seymour said business owners had contacted him, saying how "frustrating" it had been trying to access the fund.

"I am calling on the police minister to be clear with business owners about how they become eligible, what the process is and how much of the $6 million fund has already been allocated."

In a statement, Hipkins acknowledged the concerns of business owners and their desire to have security measures installed to protect against further crime.

"We're working hard to speed up the delivery of these measures to shops that need them."

He said youth crime was investigated thoroughly by police.

"Since April, more than 60 offenders have been caught or are in the process of being identified, adding to 216 arrests and 829 charges so far from a previous operation," he said.

One way youth offending was addressed was through family group conferences.

The conferences, commissioned through either the police or Youth Court, included representatives from Oranga Tamariki, police, the offender's whānau, the victim, programme leads and other community representatives.

While National has previously criticised the approach, experienced Auckland social worker Stephen Boxer supported their use.

Boxer, who managed two Graeme Dingle Foundation youth programmes,
said FGCs were largely successful, but felt they were too often led by Oranga Tamariki instead of members of the community.

"It should be driven from the community by credible community providers, people specially trained who'd be able to facilitate that process."

That included a stronger focus on rehabilitation, something Boxer considered a necessary change to a system overly concerned with punitive measures.

- Bernard Orsman and Adam Pearse, NZ Herald