Is there a right way to tackle youth crime?

The number of people reporting that they are victims of crime has shot up to record levels. Worryingly, we are also seeing a growing trend of offences committed by younger members of society. We rarely see a week pass without a ram raid incident.   This has led some politicians to call for harsher penalties for those committing these crimes - even if it does ring of hypocrisy.  But do harsher penalties actually work? And as a society do we tend to be hard on some offenders while giving a free pass to others?   Today, I’m joined by Auckland University criminology expert Dr Ronald Kramer to discuss what we can do about some of New Zealand’s youngest criminal offenders.    Follow The Front Page on iHeartRadio or wherever you get your podcasts. You can read more about this and other stories in the New Zealand Herald, online at nzherald.co.nz, or tune in to news bulletins across the NZME network. Host: Damien VenutoEditor: Paddy Fox Executive Producer: Ethan SillsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.