Family Integrity

Tag: Police

  • CYF girl’s death provokes inquiry

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10533231

    CYF girl’s death provokes inquiry

    4:00AM Saturday Sep 20, 2008
    By Elizabeth Binning

    An investigation is under way after a distraught 12-year-old girl died in Child Youth and Family care, less than a month after she was allegedly abused by a caregiver.

    The girl was found dead in a North Shore home by a younger sibling. Police say there were no suspicious circumstances and the case has now been referred to the Coroner.

    But the girl’s extended family are upset she was put into the care of a man who molested her and the fact it took four days for CYF to remove her once the allegations were made.

    The girl and her seven siblings were put into the care of a Northland family 2 1/2 years ago.

    Her father, who had supervised visits, told the Weekend Herald one of his sons accused the caregiver of hitting the children about two years ago but CYF never did anything about it.

    “We were always telling CYF that these caregivers were hurting our kids,” he said. “They said they would go and investigate it. They came back and said we were lying and the kids were making it up.”

    At the beginning of last month the girl told her father, during another supervised visit, that she was being abused by her caregiver.

    The father told the CYF case worker about the allegations that day but nothing happened. “He said, ‘I’m sorry to hear this but it’s only alleged’. I told him he can take us to the police – we had no vehicles to get there – and he said, ‘We’ll keep it internal and we’ll deal with it ourselves’.”

    Under agreed protocol the girl should have been immediately removed from the caregiver and police notified. But it is understood neither happened as the social worker did not alert anyone that weekend.

    By Monday, unhappy with the lack of action, the father went to his local MP and the police. CYF was also renotified. It was not until Tuesday that the children were all removed from the Northland family’s care.

    Because of the large number of siblings the girl and her 7-year-old sister were separated from the others and sent to a home in Auckland, which her family claim added to her distress. She was suffering from the abuse and had the added pressure of feeling responsible for separating her siblings.

    Last Saturday her younger sister found her dead in their bedroom.

    CYF deputy chief executive Ray Smith said the staff involved in the case were “devastated” and their deepest sympathies went to the family.

    “As always when a child in our care dies we will look into whether everything possible had been done to protect them from harm.

    “Allegations raised against one of the caregivers resulted in the matter being referred to the police … and the children were immediately removed while investigations occurred.”

    The family say the removal was not immediate as the case worker was told on the Friday and the children weren’t taken away until the Tuesday.

    The girl’s grandmother said she hoped her granddaughter’s death would result in changes within CYF.

    “Maybe she was giving her life to make life safer for others.”

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    Also see “Nature or Nuture” (pp. 10-1, 13-14) Herald Weekend Supplement. At the end of June 2008 4522 youngsters were in the care of CYF. The annual bill for looking after them rns to $778 milion and about 3/4 of that is spent on children in foster care. (p. 11)

  • Teachers can use force on kids – cop

    http://www.stuff.co.nz/4682871a11.html

    Teachers can use force on kids – cop

    By LANE NICHOLS – The Dominion Post | Saturday, 06 September 2008

    Teachers should not be afraid to “man-handle” violent children if they pose immediate risks, even if it means leaving bruising, the top youth aid cop says.

    Serious sexual offenders as young as 12, who would be labelled paedophiles if they were adults, are preying on young victims, Inspector Chris Graveson says.

    Many have themselves been victims of sexual abuse, and youth violence has become significantly worse in the past five years.

    But many teachers are too cautious about using force in classrooms to protect children, despite being entitled to under the Crimes Act, he says.

    Though forcible restraint might leave bruising on a child – and women bruise more easily than men – it can be necessary if the child poses immediate danger.

    “If force is going to have to be used then that’s an actual risk of what can happen.

    “You hear people saying, ‘you can’t touch children. You can’t do this, you can’t do that’. [But] if a child’s being attacked, you’re duty-bound to intervene.”

    The children’s commissioner’s office rejected Mr Graveson’s comments. It was never appropriate to use enough force to cause bruising, office general manager Gordon McFadyen said.

    “This office would be very surprised if it was official police policy to encourage teachers to use a level of force that would leave bruises on primary school children.”

    Mr Graveson made the comments to primary school teachers in Wellington yesterday during an Educational Institute seminar on disruptive pupils.

    The union, which represents 49,000 members, is due to unveil new guidelines this month for dealing with disruptive or violent children.

    Nearly 7000 pupils were stood down or suspended for assaults last year.

    Mr Graveson said young people often grabbed things as weapons during standoffs.

    “They can cause serious harm to another child with one strike. They’re serious assaults we’re talking about.”

    He said the word “force” was police jargon for any physical contact or touching. It should only be used as a last resort and in the best interests of the child.

    Educational Institute president Frances Nelson agreed.

    “Most teachers will say there are times when they knew they actually had to restrain a child – otherwise that child or other children, or other adults, would get hurt.”

  • Man to face trial over alleged ‘ear flicking’

    This is what someone said on an email discussion group:

    ‘So this is what it has come down to – a father charged with assault for flicking his kid’s ear!

    Meanwhile no-one is held responsible for the deaths of the Kahui twins.

    Is this the sort of country we want New Zealand to be?

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/1/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10528277&ref=rss

    Man to face trial over alleged ‘ear flicking’

    2:44PM Thursday August 21, 2008

    The Smacking Debate

    The Christchurch man accused of assaulting his two young sons will face trial.

    In January, Jimmy Mason claimed he was harassed by the police when he was spotted publicly disciplining his four-year-old son.

    He claims he only flicked the boy’s ear and that witnesses, including a teacher and an off-duty police officer, overreacted.

    Mason was then charged with assaulting both his two sons, aged two and four.

    A short depositions hearing took place in the Christchurch District Court this morning at which all the evidence was presented in written form. The media was not permitted to access the evidence.

    Four witnesses will give evidence in Mason’s trial, for which a date is yet to be set.

    – NEWSTALK ZB

  • Anti-Smacking Law Wasting CYF Time – Missing Real Abuse

    MEDIA RELEASE

    1 August 2008

    Anti-Smacking Law Wasting CYF Time – Missing Real Abuse

    Family First NZ says there is further evidence that CYF’s limited resources are being wasted, with a ‘blow-out’ in CYF notifications but the levels of actual abuse not increasing, or at worst not being caught.

    Waikato figures reported in the Waikato Times today, show an increase of notifications from 5,973 to 8,629 but those requiring further action have fallen significantly from 3729 to 3308 that same year.

    “This is a 44% increase in the demand on CYF services yet the identification of actual child abuse has dropped 11%. This is consistent with a disturbing trend nationwide,” says Bob McCoskrie, National Director of Family First NZ.

    “This is perfect proof that the ideologically flawed anti-smacking law has resulted in unwarranted reports of good parents which is a waste of the limited resources of CYF.”

    Figures from CYF’s national 2007/08 Third Quarter report show a 32% increase in notifications over the previous 12 months but numbers requiring further action remaining the same.

    “If the figures could be attributed to a rising intolerance to child abuse and domestic violence, we would be seeing an increasing rate of cases requiring further action – but we are not. That is simply because of a misguided law,” says Mr McCoskrie.

    “CYF resources are being wasted because of a law that labels good parents as potential child abusers, and distracts CYF and Police from dealing with the real causes of child abuse and actual child abuse.”

    Family First NZ continues to call on the politicians to change the law so that non-abusive smacking is not a crime (as wanted by 85% of NZ’ers according to recent research).

    ENDS

    For More Information and Media Interviews, contact Family First:

    Bob McCoskrie – National Director

    Mob. 027 55 555 42

  • Alarm over teen abuse of parents

    http://www.stuff.co.nz/4657233a19716.html

    Alarm over teen abuse of parents

    SMH | Friday, 15 August 2008

    Teenage children are bashing and bullying their parents at an increasing rate in Australia, a largely hidden form of abuse that can arise from violent role models or overindulgent parenting.

    Studies in NSW and Victoria show an increasing number of parents are the victims of physical and psychological violence perpetrated by their children, usually adolescent sons directing their attacks on their mothers.

    A new Victorian report reveals a 23 per cent increase in domestic violence involving a person aged under 19 between 2002 and 2006. One in 10 of the state’s police family violence call-outs involves an adolescent perpetrator, and about 3500 cases happen each year.

    While NSW police do not have readily available statistics, a recent study by University of Western Sydney researchers found 51 per cent of women experience some form of violence at the hands of their children. And the researchers say the figures could be even higher, because the shame and secrecy associated with child-parent violence prevents many mothers from reporting the abuse to authorities.

    Jo Howard, a clinical family therapist who co-wrote the Melbourne report, said mothers often suffered years of violence before calling the police or seeking other assistance.

    Many parents were confused about whether their children’s violence was normal teenage behaviour, and they minimised serious abuse as “just mucking around”.

    “They would absolutely have to be at the end of their tether to call the police,” she said. “A lot of parents don’t even know they can call the police with these kinds of issues. It’s absolutely the last step.”

    Ms Howard’s report documents adolescent violence in 10 families. Almost all of the sons had experienced or witnessed abuse by their fathers or other men – towards their mothers and sometimes themselves – and most also had learning and behavioural problems from an early age.

    Mothers told the researchers how their sons would spit at or punch them, swear and call them names, threaten to use weapons such as knives, steal money, break objects and not allow them any privacy, even in the bathroom. They talked about always being fearful at home, and worried about how the young men would treat future girlfriends.

    Ms Howard said another scenario in which adolescent violence was increasingly common was where stressed parents working long hours overindulged children and failed to set boundaries.

    “Parents are trying to compensate for not being available, [they] are generally wanting to give their kids the best,” she said.

    “Then the kids just start to use quite bullying tactics and slowly over time they will start to up the ante until they are smashing things and becoming quite abusive.”

    In the University of Western Sydney study of more than 1000 mothers from the Blue Mountains, Hawkesbury and Penrith areas, 51 per cent reported some form of child violence ranging from physical abuse to more common forms such as swearing, denigrating, “silent treatment” and aggressively making demands.

    Mothers were most fearful of sons aged between 13 and 18, and the younger the child when the behaviour began, the longer it continued and the more severe the violence became.

    Lesley Wilkes, from the university’s school of nursing, oversaw the study, which also found that mothers who were young, single, had low education or were in casual employment were the most likely to suffer abuse from their children.

    “Teenagers may swear at you once but they shouldn’t be doing it every day [and] no teenager should hit their mother,” Professor Wilkes said.

  • New Zealand continues to follow Sweden

    From Family First NZ Media Release:

    https://familyintegrity.org.nz/2008/eight-smacking-prosecutions-in-six-month-period/

    “According to the Police Executive Meeting 6 Month Review papers, there have been no prosecutions for ‘smacking’, but the paper (Official police papers) says that “eight ‘minor acts of physical discipline’ events against children were prosecuted with six yet to be resolved.”

    This is what Ruby Harrold-Claesson informed us back in March 2007 about Sweden

    https://familyintegrity.org.nz/2007/emails-from-ruby-harrold-claesson/

    March 2007

    [4] – “There has been no increase in the number of parents drawn into the Swedish criminal justice system for minor assaults in the past 25 years.”

    Rebuttal: Before 1978 no parent would have been drawn before the police and prosecutor like the priest who had slapped his 16-yr old daughter. (See Case 1 in my Case Law). Deborah Coddington quoted Prof. Christian Diesen in her article “Anti-smack campaign fails to pack a punch”, (http://subs.nzherald.co.nz/author/story.cfm?a_id=271&ObjectID=10393619). Diesen said that there are “7000 reports of child abuse per year in Sweden, but only 10 % are prosecuted.” These are statistics from the Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention.
    Diesen says “only 10% are prosecuted.” He wants to see more prosecutions – even if the parents should be found not guilty.

    Recent statistics show that there are 11 000 reports of child abuse per year in Sweden and that there has been a 14% increase between 2005 – 2006. See http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0702/S00378.htm

  • Eight Smacking Prosecutions in Six Month Period

    MEDIA RELEASE

    10 August 2008

    Eight Smacking Prosecutions in Six Month Period

    Family First NZ says that claims that there have been no smacking prosecutions are false and misleading.

    Official police papers obtained by Family First NZ under the Official Information Act show that prosecutions against parents who use minor physical discipline or light smacking are being masked under a category that has no statutory definition.

    According to the Police Executive Meeting 6 Month Review papers, there have been no prosecutions for ‘smacking’, but the paper says that “eight ‘minor acts of physical discipline’ events against children were prosecuted with six yet to be resolved.”

    “The problem is that there is no statutory definition for either ‘smacking’ or ‘minor acts of physical discipline’,” says Bob McCoskrie, National Director of Family First NZ. “So rather than call them smacking and draw attention, they are simply being classified under this undefined category.”

    “These so-called minor acts also show a 200% increase in families being investigated over a six month period yet less than 10% were serious enough to consider warranting a prosecution. This would suggest that there is a huge drain on police resources in trying to meet the requirements of this flawed law.”

    “It is concerning that the anti-smacking law is being promoted as working by playing around with definitions, and that so many families are being investigated for minor acts. It is important to remember that there is still a definition of ‘child assault’ and this is the category that we should be throwing the resources and weight of the law at.”

    “You know a law is a bad law when it fails to deal with the problem it was supposed to deal with, while good families become the victims of it because nobody can accurately define what the law says or means,” says Mr McCoskrie.

    Family First NZ continues to call on the politicians to change the law so that non-abusive smacking is not a crime (as wanted by 85% of NZ’ers, according to recent research).

    ENDS

    For More Information and Media Interviews, contact Family First:

    Bob McCoskrie – National Director

    Mob. 027 55 555 42

  • Runaway girl’s parents give CYF joint custody

    http://www.stuff.co.nz/4649975a11.html

    Runaway girl’s parents give CYF joint custody

    By AMY MILNE – The Southland Times | Saturday, 09 August 2008

    The parents of an Invercargill teenager have voluntarily signed joint custody of their daughter over to Child, Youth and Family in the hope it will prevent her from running away from home again.

    Janelle Savage, 14, was found in Christchurch on Wednesday night, ending three months of anguish for her parents John and Christine Savage.

    Police found Janelle, who had been missing from Invercargill since May 9, at the South City Mall in Columbo St about 6pm on Wednesday after a tip.

    Police placed Janelle in the care of Child Youth and Family, and yesterday her parents signed joint custody over to the organisation in the bid to curb her habit of running away.

    She was yesterday transferred from Christchurch to CYF’s Puketai Residential Centre in Dunedin.

    It was a decision the Savages grappled with but believed it was the right one.

    “Christine and I are finding this very tough,” Mr Savage said.

    “We love our daughter a lot and are trying to do the right thing … it’s a hard decision to sign her to Social Welfare (Child Youth and Family) — joint custody — it’s hard to do that to your own kid. But I’m hoping this is going to break the cycle and she’ll know the consequences for her running away.” Police knew little of what Janelle had been doing but believed she had been staying predominantly with a former Invercargill woman.

    The woman the Savages believed Janelle was staying with in Christchurch used to live next door to the family. Janelle had run off to stay with her four times now, Mr Savage said.

    He said the woman was a bad influence on Janelle.

    While Mr and Mrs Savage had not spoken to Janelle, they had received text messages from her saying she was “very sorry, she loves us and wants to come home”, Mr Savage said.

    “It brought a bloody tear to the eye, actually.

    “We love our kids. We love Janelle and we just want what’s best for her and it’s a wee bit hard when she keeps running away.” Janelle would remain at Puketai at least until Monday when a decision would be made about whether she would stay on, come home or be placed into another CYF home, Mr Savage said.

    ““““““““““““““““““““““““““““““““““““`

    This is a terrible situation. The parents lost the heart of their daughter to their neighbour and it has wrecked their family life. If you are in a similar situation I would highly recommend listening to this tape. It is excellent:

    https://familyintegrity.org.nz/2008/changing-the-heart-of-a-rebel/

  • Baby fighting for life after incident at home: abuse suspected

    This is not Reasonable Force by way of correction it is child Abuse:

    http://www.stuff.co.nz/4643858a11.html

    Baby fighting for life after incident at home

    By SALLY FRENCH – Stuff.co.nz | Tuesday, 05 August 2008
    SHANE WENZLICK/Surburban Newspapers

    INVESTIGATION UNDERWAY: A police cordon surrounds the house in Papakura.

    A baby is fighting for his life in Auckland’s Starship Children’s Hospital after suffering non-accidental head injuries.

    Counties Manukau detective inspector John Tims said the Papakura child was taken to Middlemore Hospital by ambulance about 9.30pm on Saturday before being transferred to Starship Hospital.

    Tims said police were advised the injuries are non-accidental and potentially life threatening.

    He said the baby’s parents and maternal grandmother have all provided statements to police.

    “We want to acknowledge the family are co-operating with us.

    “The parents are at their son’s bedside and we are working with them,” Tims said.

    The boy lived at his parent’s home with his 18-month-old brother, and maternal grandmother.  The parents are aged 18 and 19.

    Tims said Children and Young Persons have been advised of the situation, and are working with Police in regards to the boy’s elder sibling.

    A specialist child abuse investigative team are conducting a scene examination at the baby’s Papakura home today, assisted by ESR specialists.

    Tims said police are in constant liaison with a paediatrician at Starship Hospital.

    “We will provide an update on the baby’s medical condition should there be any changes,” he said..

    More on this:

    http://www.odt.co.nz/news/national/16315/infant-fights-life-abuse-suspected

    Infant fights for life: abuse suspected

    A 4-month-old boy is in a critical condition in Starship Hospital after suffering head injuries at his South Auckland home.

    The baby was rushed to hospital on Saturday night before undergoing surgery on Sunday for what police believe are “non-accidental” head injuries received at his Papakura home.

    The Housing NZ home was yesterday cordoned off while police began investigations into what is suspected to be a case of serious child abuse……………..

    Neighbours yesterday knew little about the family who lived at the run-down home.

    One woman said parties were always being held there and people came and went at all hours.

    Another woman said police had arrived at the house about six months ago.

    Moments after they arrived, all the people in the house came out with their hands above their heads.

    She believed it was in relation to drug dealing at the house.

    Yesterday, an alcohol box and several empty beer bottles lay on the unmowed lawn, alongside other bits of rubbish.

    The front window was smashed and shards of glass lay on the ground.

    A child’s stroller could be seen behind a net curtain next to the broken window.

    Children’s Commissioner Dr Cindy Kiro said she was shocked and saddened to hear another child had been injured.

    “It’s terrible. Can you just imagine what these kids go through? Often it’s not the first time. There’s often a whole lot of precipitating things that lead up to the last incident where the child or baby is being abused,” she said.

    Dr Kiro is due to present a package of actions to tackle child abuse to a family violence taskforce this week.

    New Zealand has the third highest rate of infanticide of all the countries in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

  • Police ‘Taxi Service’ for Truant Sets Dangerous Precedent

    Original article:

    http://www.stuff.co.nz/4642055a11.html

    MEDIA RELEASE

    August 2008

    Police ‘Taxi Service’ for Truant Sets Dangerous Precedent

    Family First NZ says that a dangerous precedent is being set by the police by taxiing a truanting 14 year old to school every morning, and fails to deal with the underlying problems.

    “The causes of truancy are predominantly a lack of parental supervision or a breakdown in the functioning of the family to the point that the parent has no control over the actions of the child,” says Bob McCoskrie, National Director of Family First NZ.

    “In this case, reported from Christchurch and under a new scheme called Rock On, the police are simply fulfilling the role of the parent and are providing a short term solution to a potentially longer term problem.”

    “The problem, which is becoming more common, is that a student is being left to fend for themselves – in this case from 6.15 in the morning. Schools are already expressing concerns that children are being dropped off at schools earlier and earlier.”

    30,000 students are absent without leave every week in NZ, and the truancy rate has increased 41% since 2002.

    “Research is quite clear that parental supervision needs to be in place at key times of the day, including before and straight after school, to ensure that the child doesn’t become at-risk.”

    “Unfortunately, the expectation on both parents to work, economic pressures on families, and the hours that parents work, means that children and teenagers are more likely to be unsupervised at key times,” says Mr McCoskrie. “Shift work can also mean that mum and dad are at home at completely separate times for their kids.”

    “It is time we expected and enabled parents to fulfil their important and essential role of supervising their children rather than trying to put ‘rescue nets’ and programmes in place which simply mask the problem.”

    “But this will mean a huge ‘mind-shift’ in terms of respecting the role of parents and supporting that role.”

    ENDS

    For More Information and Media Interviews, contact Family First:

    Bob McCoskrie – National Director

    Mob. 027 55 555 42