This report presents information on the youth (people aged under 17) convicted of murder or manslaughter since 2002. Analysis shows that there have been very few of these convictions in recent times. Over the period analysed there were 14 youth convicted for murder and 27 convicted of manslaughter and imprisoned. Each of the 10 youngest people were convicted of manslaughter.
Key Results
Between 2002 and 2009, youth (people aged under 17) made up 11.8% of those convicted of manslaughter. This is slightly higher than the youth share of the total population of New Zealand (9.8%).
The highest number of youth manslaughter convictions was in 2002. That year also saw the highest average imprisonment sentence given out.
The average length of imprisonment given to youth for manslaughter convictions was very similar to adults.
The youngest person convicted was 12 years old at the date of offence (Bailey Junior Kurariki). The next nine youngest people were all 14 years old at date of offence.
Of all the youths convicted, 84% were male. Auckland held the most trials resulting in manslaughter convictions for youth, with 13 convictions over this period, followed by Rotorua with six and Whangarei with three.