21 Aug 2013

Progress for Maori youth

6:37 am on 21 August 2013

The Government is reporting major progress for Maori youth as a result of crime prevention work.

It says offending by young Maori has dropped by nearly a third in four years, and the number of children admitted to hospital with preventable illness is down 22%.

the drivers of crime programme tackles the underlying causes of crime, including health and poor education.

Spending of $10 million in the past year has funded better addiction treatment, special courts to deal with drug and alcohol offenders, and help for prisoners being released from prison, the Government says.

The progress report also found more tamariki receiving pre-school education and more Maori and Pasifika school leavers achieving NCEA Level 2 compared to 2009 figures.