Staff present for 'walking the line' assault at Korowai Manaaki
Oranga Tamariki has confirmed staff were present when a young person was assaulted by other teens during a ‘walking the line’ farewell at Korowai Manaaki youth justice residence in March, according to RNZ.
Documents seen by RNZ describe the practice as young people lining up on either side of the unit’s inner front door to farewell someone being discharged. In this case, three stood on one side and two on the other. The boy leaving stood at the top of the line. He looked nervous and hesitant to walk to the door. As he left, the others slapped and hit him.
Oranga Tamariki told RNZ that “kaimahi were present in the unit with the rangatahi” — kaimahi are staff and rangatahi are young people. The agency said the staff’s “action or inaction” was being addressed. It gave no further detail on why staff did not stop the assault.
The incident was referred to police, and an employment investigation was started. Police have since closed the case with no charges and no further action, according to RNZ. Oranga Tamariki said police advised there was “no evidence of criminal offending by either the rangatahi involved or the kaimahi”. Police are no longer involved. In mid-August, the agency said the employment process was still under way.
Youth Justice Services and Residential Care deputy chief executive Dean Winter said the agency had worked with Korowai Manaaki staff to reinforce expectations for incident reporting.
The broader context here is that the two processes test different things. The police test is criminal offending. The employment test is professional standards, supervision and reporting. The live questions are what staff did or did not do in the unit, why reporting needed reinforcement afterwards, and what outcome follows from the employment process. Those answers will shape how the agency is judged on duty of care, not the closed police file.
Looking at what this means for accountability, the employment track matters more than the police outcome. Residences run with delegated authority and wide discretion, so reporting is the main check. When reporting has to be reinforced after an incident, it raises questions about supervision on the day and escalation afterwards. The agency has said both are in scope without giving detail. For the Beehive, the test is whether internal standards are enforced and made visible.
