Wellington, May 6 NZPA - The Government's proposed "Boot Camp Bill" came under fire again today, with changes to the Youth Court's jurisdiction to include 12 and 13-year-olds drawing strong criticism.

The Youth Courts Jurisdiction and Orders Amendment Bill seeks to provide the court with new sentencing options ranging from tight supervision to a three-month stretch in a military-style camp.

It would also extend the court's jurisdiction to include 12 and 13-year-olds who committed serious crimes and allow the court to issue parenting orders.

Parliament's social services select committee convened today to hear public submissions on the bill.

Former Youth Court Judge Carolyn Henwood told the committee New Zealand had a strong record in youth justice and asked that "we be very clear about what we are doing," before any decisions were made.

Speaking as chairwoman of the Henwood Trust, she said youth justice was a "notoriously difficult" area to legislate and the Family Court offered the best range of options for dealing with young people.

It was "morally and ethically and legally wrong to institute criminal proceedings against children," except in cases such as murder, her submission said.

Even if extending the court's jurisdiction was seen as desirable, the system was already under pressure.

"I don't even know if we have got the capacity to give (12-year-olds) a jury trial," Judge Henwood said.

Newly appointed Children's Commissioner John Angus, speaking on a submission prepared by his predecessor, said there had been no investigation into whether organisations such as Child Youth and Family could be used to further address youth offending before legislation was pushed through which would "expose 12 and 13-year-olds to the risks of the adult court".

Mr Angus said offending by young people reflected a failing by adults. The commissioner's submission supported court-ordered plans for family groups to fulfil, but expressed concern that the youth may be unfairly penalised if their parent or guardian did not hold up their end of the bargain.

While the issue of boot camps took a back seat, it was mentioned by the majority who spoke today.

The consensus, which was accepted by members of the committee, was that there was little or no evidence the camps reduced repeat offending and the proposal should not go ahead without further research.

Representatives from Young Labour suggested the camps, with their physical training programmes, may even produce "fitter, faster, stronger criminals" who would then be unleashed on communities.

Once all submissions have been heard the bill must pass its second reading, committee stage and third reading before it can be introduced as law.

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