Level Of Criminal Assaults By Children In NZ “No Surprise”

Lost among the hype of New Zealand's recently released 2010 crime figures were some shocking data about child violence. The stats make for grim reading as they come at a time when schoolyard bullying and violent  assaults are frequently in the New Zealand news.

Police crime statistics showed the number of children under 9 apprehended for assaults in 2010 was 64, almost double the 33 recorded in 2009.

Assaults in the 10-13 age group also rose, with 827 apprehensions in 2010, compared to 770 in 2009. The majority of offenders were boys. Read Crime shock: NZ’s little thugs on the NZ Herald’s site.

Family First NZ says that the level of criminal assaults being committed by primary school students is no surprise - and will worsen, especially when schools are pressured to accept and accommodate increasingly defiant and unacceptable behaviour by children.

"In 2008, Family First caught out the Ministry of Education when the ministry's student engagement report buried the primary school figures in a graph with no raw numbers and no commentary. In fact, the number of primary school children stood down and suspended had grown from 4800 in 2000 to 6595 in 2007. That year, 945 primary school students were suspended and 5650 stood down - 28 per cent of the total number of students at all levels stood down in that year," says Bob McCoskrie, National Director of Family First NZ.

"We have tried to bury our heads in the sand on this growing problem - but the problem hasn't gone away and is only worsening."
"And it's not just in schools. Ministry of Justice statistics released last year showed that from 1998-2008, the number of police apprehensions for grievous/serious assaults by 10-13 year olds increased by more than 70%. For each of the most recent two years, there had been almost 1,000 apprehensions for 10-13 year olds for all violent offences, which include aggravated robbery, sexual violation, indecent assault, and serious assaults - an increase of a third since 1998," says Mr McCoskrie.

"Alarm bells should be ringing when there has been a 70% increase in the number of children committing a serious enough act of violence to warrant police involvement, and almost 1000 children are being chucked out of primary schools for behaviour that is just so bad that schools have got to the point where they can't even work with it - even when the Ministry of Education is pressuring schools not to suspend or expel students."

"There are many factors that may be contributing to these statistics including the levels of violence in the media and games, the undermining of parental and school authority, the 'rights' culture being fed to young people, and family breakdown and fatherlessness," says Mr McCoskrie.

"But firstly, we must be honest enough to admit that there is a disturbing trend which needs urgent action and a change of policies as to how we deal with these children and their families. Forcing schools to accommodate the problem is not the solution and is harming the school community." source

Emigrating to New Zealand because you think it is a great place to raise kids? Read Rotorua Stabbing “Indicative” Of Youth Issues In City and NZ A Great Place to Raise Kids? Porirua’s Midnight Express (blog written about an alarming increase in Children committing violent crime and robberies around New Zealand)


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Savage Beating Left Wanganui Girls College Pupil Bleeding From Ears

Further details have emerged of the sickening attack on a 15 year old Wanganui Girl’s College student, Robin de Jong,  that we reported on on 20 March. See Another School Attack Hospitalises Student
Video of the assault shows another pupil of Wanganui Girl’s College pushing her victim to the ground, kicking her in the back and stamping on her head.

Watch an interview with Robin de Jong here in which she says that the beating was as a result of a stabbing threat that had been made against her at school and her making a complaint to the principal that got back to her attacker.

The mother and daughter are speaking out in the hope that getting this issue out and dealt with will prevent it from happening to any more children in New Zealand’s schools. No more dirty little secrets, no more keeping quiet and pretending this sort of thing doesn’t go on.

Police say the violence they saw in the video is similar to that they see in male gangs.

A parent at the school also saw the video, said he was sickened by the violence and told the Wanganui Chronicle that his family had considered taking their children out of the school, but

We’ve considered the safety of our girls but it’s pretty hard because bullying like this happens in every school.
“But this is the worst thing I’ve ever seen..

It seems that there is no end to this violence in New Zealand.

Is this because parents simply withdraw their children from problem schools because they believe the school is powerless to deal with it? The result being that the bullies are never challenged for their behaviour and the cycle of violence is never broken.

It seems the only solution is to shut up and leave.


Education minister Anne Tolley told the NZ Herald that parents need to take more responsibility for the actions of their children

“Behaviour issues shouldn’t be left to schools to deal with on their own. Parents should also take responsibility.
“Any kind of bullying is unacceptable, and this is an issue which the whole school community has to address.”
“Schools aren’t immune to the rise in violent behaviour which has taken place in society, and the vast majority of schools have robust plans in place to deal with it.”

But how can they take responsibility when victims remain silent, are quietly withdrawn from school or are consigned to solitary confinement in school offices.

It’s not just the students that bully either, only this week a teacher of 6-7 year olds was found guilty of assaulting the children in his care. What are children learning in classes like his about respect and tolerance for other people.

Why are we hearing of more and more incidents of bullying, why are assaults like these escalating. Will it take the death of a child to get New Zealand to take this problem seriously.

The injured girl’s mother says

“[Schools] can only punish [students who bully] with expelling them and to me that’s not enough.
“These kids know they won’t get arrested because they’re too young. That’s why they do it.“
The woman said parents also had some responsibility for their children’s behaviour.
She described the attitude of the parents of the alleged attacker as “very disappointing”.
“If my daughter was the one doing the bullying, I’d put a stop to it. I’d see it as my responsibility too.”

Looks like no-one is accepting responsibility and things can only get worse.
Are you outside of NZ and want to know more? Read some of the reactions to the assault on a NZ forum here and here

For further reading about New Zealand’s culture of bullying and violence click here, or click on some of those stories below. For our Stats and Facts page relating to Children’s issues  and Education in New Zealand click here:

Have you experienced bullying in New Zealand, how was it dealt with and what was the outcome? Leave your comments on any of our bullying threads.

You may also be interested in our other blog posts

Social issues in the wider community
Post on a NZ forum, 24 March 2011:

My partner has been bullied at her work work for the last 2 yrs and all complaints seem to fall on deaf ears. Complaints have been made by several of the staff (also victims of this bully) to managment but nothing is ever done about the complaints.On several occasions the bully has been caught ( and I mean red handed)stealing from the work place and again nothing is done.. At one stage the union was notified and bought in but again nothing is done…My partner is so stressing out over all of this and has no one to turn to. The bully in this case is also a good freind of the manager in the work place…What can we do??? I have had enough of my partner coming home complaining and I cant do anything to make it any better for her… Please help!!!
Reply: One thing you need to understand is that management/authorities don’t give a toss about work place bullies. What is said is simply lip service to make the vicims feel safe. Lay a complaint and you become the instigator, Bosses simply do not wish to deal with it and know that the victim will eventually leave and the problem is solved. Find another job and leave It is the only satisfactory remedy. Save your sanity, Another typical New Zealand I don’t give a shit buisness.

Bullying Rife In NZ Hospitals
Bullying claim leads to new management – “Allegations of abuse, bullying and “unusual employment practices” at a Palmerston North rest home have prompted the MidCentral District Health Board to force a change of ownership”
Quarter Of Kiwis, Fifth Of NZ Police Officers Bullied At Work
NZ A Great Place to Raise Kids? Porirua’s Midnight Express
Kids in New Zealand – The Village Lets Them Down
Rotorua stabbing “indicative” of youth issues in the city
Silent Death Toll In World’s Eighth Happiest Country
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Bullying and violence in schools affecting adults and children
Another School Attack Hospitalises Student
NZ Scores Second Worst in the World For Bullying in Schools“School Bullying Reflects `Culture Of Brutality’” - “New Zealand’s poor ranking in relation to primary school bullying in an international league table is a reflection of a “culture of brutality”, United Future leader Peter Dunne says.”
Howick College – Bullying Allegations Continue – updated
Morrinsville College Girl Brain Damaged By Bullies
Belfast Teacher Encounters Troubles In NZ
New Zealand’s Next Top Model Bullied At School, But At Least She’s Not Pregnant / In Prison - “I used to get punched a lot by the other Maori kids. It was constant name-calling, like `you’re ugly, you’re never going to do anything in your entire life’.”
Parents Furious At Dean’s “Slut” Comment – Updated
Howick College – Bullying Allegations Continue – updated
Howick Schoolgirl Returns To South Africa To Escape Bullies
Fairfield College Parents Angry At School Bullying – parents removed children from school
Ryotaro Wright Attacked At Forest View High School
Knife Incident At Hamilton Girl’s High School Linked To Bullying
Migrant Tales – A Better Life For The Kids - “our kids have been traumatised by the abuse they suffered at a local school: our eldest daughter was being regularly bullied at school…”
NZ Teachers Need More Power to Protect Themselves
Bullying In NZ Schools – “A Harsh Lesson”
Two More Teachers Assaulted In Tauranga
Bullying to Blame For Te Puke Teacher Stabbing
“Poor” NZ Among Lowest In OECD For Education Spending


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China Requests Additional Compensation For NZ Quake Victims

Stuff is reporting this morning that China has asked for additional compensation over and above the ACC payments that will be paid to the next of kin of Chinese citizens killed in the Christchurch earthquake.

Reporting on a RadioNZ interview, Stuff set the scene with with a comment that China has "demanded"  New Zealand give special compensation to families that lost their only child in the 22 February earthquake.

To-date seven deceased Chinese students have been identified and over twenty are still missing (source)
The report continued with

"... Chinese Ambassador Xu Jianguo had made repeated requests for extra compensation above that paid through Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC).
An embassy official coordinating the disaster relief centre, Cheng Lee, told Radio New Zealand that China's situation was unusual due to the fact that by law families there could only have one child per family.
"There is a very notable difference in terms of the family situation between the Chinese family members and other foreign family members," he said.
"You can expect how lonely, how desperate they are, not only from losing loved ones, but losing almost entirely their source of economic assistance after retirement." Read the full report HERE

We've written many times about New Zealand's ACC system - a no-fault state insurance organisation. The downside of which is that its provision removed a victim's (or their next of kin's) right to sue for loss or damage. Historically ACC payments aren't thought to be particularly generous.

Last week businessman, Yaxun Zhang, a member of the Henan Chamber of Commerce, donated $100,000 to the Christchurch Earthquake Appeal after reading about the many Chinese people who'd lost loved ones in the disaster.


China, of course, is no stranger to the utter devastation and misery caused by earthquakes. In the May 12, 2008 Sichuan earthquake an estimated 80,000 people lost their lives, a terrible loss which multiplied through Chinese society in ways that the western world may not be aware of. In rural parts of China if you have no children you have no status.



And, because there is no one there to provide for you there is no financial security either. You can appreciate why China feels the loss of these children in New Zealand so very deeply and the impact it is having on some families.

No right to sue
New Zealand’s has a no-fault Accident Compensation Scheme. The Accident and Compensation Commission (ACC) administers a 24 hour, 7 day per week, no-fault, comprehensive accident insurance scheme covering New Zealanders and those people visiting New Zealand. In return for this cover, people do not have the right to sue for damages if another person, or organisation, is at fault.
No fault can also mean no responsibility.

We think it may be time to review the payments made to non-residents in New Zealand, many of whom come from wealthier countries with higher average earnings and standards of living. Or better still, give foreign nationals the right to opt out of ACC cover and give them (or their insurance companies) the legal right to sue for damages if they wish.

For more postings about the ACC click HERE
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