ACT wants to spend half a billion dollars building youth detention centres that would be run by the Department of Corrections, if it is in government.
The party says young law breakers need to be held acountable for their actions and cannot be allowed to walk out a facilities without any consequences for escaping.
It come off the back of a spate of ram raids - some involving children as young as 11 years old in stolen cars. Statistics however show the numbers of youth charged in courts has dropped significantly since 2007.
The centres ACT is proposing would replace Oranga Tamariki-run facilities and cost $44 million each year to operate.
ACT Party leader David Seymour talks to Lisa Owen.
