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New Zealand Police/Oranga Tamariki v SD [2021] NZYC 360

Published 30 September 2021

Disposition — family violence — assault with a weapon — theft — robbery — aggravated robbery — escaping custody — attempted abduction — Family Court crossover — "crossover kid" — Oranga Tamariki Act 1989, ss 4, 4AS, 5, 13, 208, 282 & 284 — United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, arts 3, 8, 13, 16 & 40. The young person appeared in the Youth Court in the crossover list for disposition of charges in the Youth Court and protection proceedings in the Family Court. The Judge summarised the young person's extremely difficult upbringing, which involved being uplifted by Oranga Tamariki and separated from her siblings, almost 10 different placements, exposure to family violence, parental alcohol and other drug abuse, emotional abuse and neglect. The young person faced charges of theft, robbery, assault with a weapon, escaping custody and attempted abduction. The Judge indicated that her experiences at the hands of Police under care and protection were harmful and unjust; in particular the decision to charge her with attempted abduction for visiting her brother at his school. The Judge considered the apology letters that the young person wrote to her victims and her offer of reparations, as well as the nine and a half months under varying levels of curfew, and held that they were held accountable for their actions. The Court discharged the young person's charges under s 282.

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