All eight youths who climbed onto the roof of an Auckland youth justice facility have come down, Oranga Tamariki said in a statement this afternoon.
Police were notified at 5.50pm last night that eight youths had gained access to the roof of Korowai Manaaki in Wiri.
“Overnight and today all of the young people have come down,” said Oranga Tamariki acting deputy chief executive youth justice services and residential care Iain Chapman.
A group of 13 youths climbed onto the roof of the same youth justice residence in October. (Source: 1News)
“It’s disappointing the young people have caused some damage to the Youth Justice Facility; however, the day-to-day operational running of the facility has and will continue.”
Chapman said Oranga Tamariki would work with police to determine the extent of further offending by these youths during the incident, including in relation to damage.
A 1News reporter at the scene said the young people were yelling out for water and food from McDonald’s.
Chapman said many of the young people in these facilities had committed serious offences, motivated by a range of factors such as peer pressure, notoriety and adrenaline.
“It is likely they participate in serious incidents once in custody for similar reasons.”
An operational review would be undertaken to determine the circumstances that led to this incident, he added.
The group are on the roof of a facility on Kiwi Tamaki Rd in Wiri. (Source: 1News)
Thirteen youths climbed onto the roof of the same youth justice residence in October.
In a statement last night, Children’s Minister Karen Chhour said: “Thank you to all of the staff and teams who are working hard right now to keep everyone involved safe while this is being resolved”.
