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No. 27 (June 1959)
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THE PROBLEMS OF YOUTH

by ROI TE PUNGA
District Probation Officer, Auckland

Auckland city has the largest Maori population of any city in New Zealand. This is understandable since Auckland is geographically situated in the centre with large concentrations of Maori population in Northland and to the south, in Waikato and Rotorua-Bay of Plenty areas. Furthermore, there has been a drift to this city because of lack of employment opportunities in rural districts for young Maoris in local villages and towns, and there is of course the attraction of the city with its numerous diversions of various types.

The change from living in a Maori village where life is leisurely, and to a degree semi-communal, to living in the city is considerable and calls for rapid re-adjustment to vastly different circumstances. Some young Maoris do not succeed in making this re-adjustment and eventually appear before the Court for various offences against the law.

Research is being done now by Government Departments who are interested in finding a solution to the problems involved, but such research is a long term project and the findings may not be available for some time. This being the case all that I can do is to express opinions based on cases with which I am familiar.

Maori offenders can be broadly placed into three groups based on the types of background from which they come. First, there are those who have been brought up in Maori villages and who have had little contact with the pakeha way of life. These young people are bi-lingual with Maori as their mother tongue and English as a secondary language. Many of them when speaking English think in Maori and this can give an impression to a casual observer that they are slow-thinking. The tempo of life in a Maori village is more leisurely than in a city. To a Maori youth from this environment work is a means of getting money for his simple daily needs and the need “to keep up with the Jones” is foreign to him. His whole attitude to money is different from that of a pakeha and he is more inclined to let tomorrow take care of itself. Work in rural districts, particularly in the winter months, is restricted and so he migrates to Auckland. Probably he has some relatives here, but they are living in overcrowded houses and have no room for him and so he finds board where he probably shares a room with several others in the poorer parts of the city.

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Various church organisations provide good hostels for young Maoris, but laudable as their efforts are they can take only a small proportion of those who need good accommodation. So we find our lad fending for himself in the city. He soon discovers that where at home he could only go to the pictures once a week in the city he can go to several shows in a day and some lads do just that. The pakehas he meets and associates with in the city are often a poor example of the pakeha way of life, but for him their standards are the normal standards of pakehas. He starts frequenting hotels and drunken parties and is soon on the downward path. Because work is comparatively plentiful he works for a few days and then takes a few days off to spend his wages. When he has spent his money he looks for another job. In time he becomes work shy and eventually comes before the Court perhaps for car conversion after a drunken party or for petty theft. The pattern of behaviour outlined above is typical of many cases that come before the Court. May I emphasize here that there are also many more cases where young Maoris arrive in Auckland and settle down satisfactorily and are good citizens. Furthermore, the pattern of behaviour outlined above could apply equally to some pakeha youths who come before the Court.

The second group are those Maori youths who come from country districts where they have had more contact with pakehas and know more of pakeha standards or who have lived and worked in other larger towns before coming to Auckland. These youths are more aware of their responsibilities as citizens, but have been unable to adapt quickly enough to the faster tempo of life in the city in some cases.

The third group of Maori offenders are those who have either lived in Auckland for several years or who have had sufficient experience of the pakeha way of life that they can be regarded as being thoroughly conversant with life in the city.

It should be added that cutting across these different cultural backgrounds there are the individual personality and character traits which are as diverse in Maoris as they are in pakehas. The main difference between Maori and Pakeha offenders seems to be that cultural factors assume more importance in the case of Maori offenders.

ADAPTATION TAKES TIME

Regarding types of offences committed by Maoris Mr J. McCreary of the School of Social Science, Victoria University has analysed statistics relating to Maori criminality and has noted that Maoris tend to commit the more aggressive and active kind of offences. Some of the offences in this category are unlawful conversion of motor vehicles, breaking and entering, common assault and unlawful carnal knowledge. It is noticeable, however, that sexual perversion is far less common among Maoris than pakehas. There are other offences which are sometimes the result of poor adaptation to city life. These include theft of clothing of the “first up best dressed type”, false pretences by selling goods that are subject to hire purchase agreements and being idle and disorderly with insufficient lawful means of support.

Over indulgence in alcoholic liquor by relaxing personal control is often a factor in many cases that come before the Court and this applies to pakehas as well as to Maoris. It is interesting to note, however, that alcoholism, i.e., uncontrollable and compulsive drinking is less prevalent among Maoris than among pakehas.

The response of Maoris released on probation is by and large as satisfactory as is the response of pakehas. Some certainly need supervision and guidance to encourage regular work habits, the more prudent handling of their wages and a more orderly way of life. In some cases the leniency extended by the Court is misinterpreted as weakness and this, of course, may lead to further offending. There are cases too, where a young Maori is obviously unable to cope with city life and where this is apparent efforts are made to find him employment away from the city and its many temptations. Others may require institutional training and discipline before they come to a realization that the law must be obeyed and that they have to lead a more orderly life if they are to avoid trouble.

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While it is true that the Maori race in the short period of a hundred years has had to try and adapt to the pakeha way of life, and many Maoris have made this transition successfully, yet it is a fact that too many Maoris in the younger age groups come before the Courts. The cultural factor is one which cannot be ignored, but I feel that the process of cultural adaptation is one which cannot be hastened and maybe it will take another generation or more before Maoris as a race are well adapted to the pakeha way of life.

WHAT IS THE SOLUTION?

It seems that Maori offenders in the 16–30 years age group are more irresponsible and more inclined to live for the day only than pakehas in the same age group. This could perhaps be attributed to the breaking down of tribal customs and sanctions and the fact that the authority of Maori elders is less effective in the city where, to an extent, the younger Maoris are detribalized. There is no doubt that, except in a few cases, Maori offenders know right from wrong and are aware when they break the law that they have done so even prior to arrest. It is noticeable, however, that after the age of thirty years offending by Maoris tends to taper off which may indicate an increasing sense of responsibility and maturity in those over thirty years of age.

I have no ready made solution for the problems involved. It does seem, however, that Maori parents in rural areas would be well advised to-consider the likely effect of the city and ilts temptations on young people who have never been far away from home before. This applies particularly in those cases where the young people concerned have no relatives in the city who can guide them safely through the crucial first few months in Auckland.

Furthermore there is tendency on the part of Maori parents not to claim board from their children once they commence work. This sometimes results in the young person concerned arriving in the city never having made any allowance in his wages for board and basic living expenses. The result is that in the city he may spend his wages too freely and then find that he is in arrears with board and is very short of money before pay day. In this way he might find it difficult to resist temptation.

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Mr Patrick Davis, aged 56, of Ngati Hou, was awarded the Royal New Zealand Humane Society's bronze medal for bravery last February. He had tried, at the risk of his own life, to save an elderly man from electrocution in Auckland.