Holistic interventions needed to address causes of crime

four young people lean on a wall and look at a city

MEDIA STATEMENT

13 March 2023

Holistic interventions needed to address causes of crime

We are deeply concerned by  and policies that fail to address the root causes of harmful behaviour. There is a wealth of evidence which shows that punitive approaches to youth crime do not work to reduce offending. As a society, we need upstream interventions to address the causes of crime, rather than downstream interventions which may fail to address the underlying issues.

We need to see policies that get to the heart of the issues behind harmful behaviour with an evidence-based, holistic approach.

Lisa Woods, Campaigns Director at Amnesty International Aotearoa New Zealand

Every approach to reduce offending must be grounded in international human rights standards.