A national New Zealand study of childhood non-offending contact with police and later offending in adolescence

This study examined the prevalence and nature of children’s contact with police, and how data collected by police during these events may predict children’s later offending behaviour as an adolescent. We employed national data (1999 – 2015) from Aotearoa New Zealand to examine the range of events in which children encounter police during their investigation of an incident or alleged offense, children’s roles during these events, and their sociodemographic characteristics as predictors of later offending in adolescence. Almost twice as many children were exposed to offences in comparison to non-offence incidents, and children exposed to an offence at their first contact with police were also significantly more likely to offend themselves in adolescence. Only a few of the offence or incident categories significantly predicted later offending, along with male gender, Māori ethnicity, later age at first contact with police, frequency of police contact, and any event indicated as family harm. The findings point to the utility of specific aspects of police data in predicting offending behaviour in adolescence, and the potential for this data to be used in collaboration with social service agencies and preventative police practices.