A Statutory Vetting Scheme for the Children's Workforce in New Zealand: Rights, Responsibilities And Parameters

New Zealand is unusual amongst comparable jurisdictions in lacking a statutory scheme to vet and possibly disqualify 'risky' individuals from working or volunteering with children. The current vetting process in New Zealand is ad hoc and not transparent. The Government has signalled its intention to place vetting on a statutory footing through the Vulnerable Children Bill. This article considers the appropriate parameters of a vetting scheme, considering the experiences of jurisdictions with established schemes

Editorial Note

This article is an editorial note on this special issue of the Victoria University of Wellington Law Review commemorating the 60th Anniversary of the founding of the review. &nbsp

"Girls Behaving Badly?" Young Female Violence in New Zealand

While female crime, and particularly young female violence, has long been a titillating subject for the media, recent reports suggest an upsurge in violence amongst girls in New Zealand. This short article uses raw apprehension and sentencing data to consider the question of whether violence by girls is indeed increasing. It is concluded that while there does seem to have been an increase in violence by girls in the earlier part of the decade, the level of violence has fallen in the last three years. There may also be other explanations for an increase in apprehensions for violent offences such as changes in Police practice and societal attitudes

Celebrating David McLauchlan's Contribution

This article serves as an introduction for this issue of the Victoria University of Wellington Law Review celebrating Professor David McLachlan's 40th anniversary as a faculty member. This foreword celebrates Professor McLachlan as one of the leading Commonwealth writers of contract law, as a colleague, and as a lecturer

'To Have and To Have Not': The Retention of DNA for Criminal Justice Purposes in New Zealand

The retention of DNA from suspects and convicted offenders has potential societal benefits, including: identification and ruling out of potential suspects; matching to "cold cases"; and deterrence of individuals from crime. Developments in technology have led to the rapid expansion of state-controlled databanks, containing individuals' intrinsically personal information. New Zealand has had such a databank since the mid-1990s, but legislative reforms have expanded its remit considerably. This article considers the conceptual and operational issues relating to the retention of DNA in New Zealand and makes recommendations on the ambit and governance of the databank