Justice Minister Ginny Andersen says National's proposed boot camps will produce young criminals who are better equipped to offend.
The Labour candidate appeared alongside National's Justice spokesperson Paul Goldsmith on AM on Friday to discuss crime when National's military academy policy came under fire.
Andersen said National was rehashing its failed boot camp policy which she said saw 80 percent of attendees reoffend.
"This is the problem, they sound tough, they look like they're chest beating but the evidence when you go in line-by-line it's just not there and all boot camps do is produce fitter, faster, more well connected young criminals," Andersen said. "They don't work because the evidence shows they don't work."
But Goldsmith said the party has improved the old policy and has based it on the Limited Service Volunteer (LSV) programme which targets young people who are at risk of long-term unemployment.
If elected in this upcoming election, National plans to send young serious offenders aged 15 to 17 to military academies for up to 12 months. The academies would be delivered in partnership with the Defence Force and other providers.
The party claims the academies will act as a "circuit breaker" so these young people can receive intensive rehabilitation in a monitored facility. The programme also promises to provide the attendees with schooling, counselling, drug and alcohol treatment, mentoring, and cultural support.
The young offender will receive support after they finish the academy and their parents or guardians will be assigned a caseworker to reintegrate the person.
However, Andersen said there is a key issue with National's policy.
"The main problem with the approach that Paul is advocating for is that it's the family unit that needs to change," she told co-host Laura Tupou.
"It will be family violence, it will be mental health, addiction – all of those issues within the family are not addressed if the young person is taken out, put in a boot camp and put back in the same unit."
The Labour Party put in place last year a "circuit breaker" programme for young repeat offenders which is a fast-tracked intervention where information will be shared with Oranga Tamariki within 24 hours of when a child has been identified or arrested by police. An agreed plan on how to deal with and support the young person is then confirmed in 48 hours.
Goldsmith hit back at Andersen's comments, saying military academies are better than young offenders "sitting on the roof of an OT place waiting for [their] KFC voucher". His comment takes aim at when OT gave a group of young people who escaped onto the roof fast food vouchers in exchange for them to get down.
"The approach of the Labour Government has been to pat them on the head and say we will see you again next weekend," Goldsmith.
While the two politicians went back and forth on AM, there was one thing they both agreed on: New Zealand needs to have a clear message that there will be real consequences for crime.
