Young people who have lived in public housing for at least 10 years are significantly less likely to commit crimes or to become victims of crime than their peers in the general population, a study by researchers from the University of Otago, Wellington – Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka, Pōneke has found.
The lead researcher, Dr Chang Yu, a Research Fellow in the Faculty of Medicine’s Department of Public Health, examined youth justice outcomes among almost 10,000 young people aged between 14 and 24 years who were continuously housed in public housing between 2013 and 2022.
Dr Chang Yu
He found those in public housing over a long-term period had significantly fewer interactions with the justice sector than their counterparts in the general population, despite experiencing socio-economic disadvantages.
The researchers gained information on young people’s housing status and interactions with the health and justice systems from Stats NZ’s Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI).
Their findings are published in the international journal, Social Policy & Administration.
The protective effect of long-term residence in public housing was strongest among the most disadvantaged young people, including those subject to abuse in childhood, and those living with a family member who had committed a criminal offence.
Dr Yu says a third of the young people in public housing had experienced abuse in their earlier childhood years (before they entered long-term public housing) – double the rate for the general youth population.
“While this puts them at higher risk of later going on to commit criminal offences, being in long-term accommodation appeared to significantly reduce this risk,” Dr Yu says.
About half the young people in public housing lived in households with members who had committed a criminal offence, significantly higher than the 27 per cent in the general youth population, doubling their risk of criminal offending. However, being in long-term public housing provided a very strong protective effect against offending for this group.
Dr Yu says housing stability can help mitigate the socioeconomic and other disadvantages young people face, decreasing their risk of criminal offending. Having a secure home also helps protect young people against becoming victims of crime by reducing the time they spend in high-risk or transient environments, such as on the street, or homeless, where they may become targets.
“Providing public housing for young people confers benefits well beyond simply providing shelter. It can alter the trajectory disadvantaged young people are on, reducing the likelihood they will turn to crime or end up becoming victims of crime themselves.”
The research builds on a previous study by Dr Yu published last year which found rates of offending among young people declined after they moved into stable housing, or received an accommodation supplement. The previous research included young people who had been in public housing for relatively short periods, and did not include statistics on victims of crime.
Publication details:
The research paper, ‘Continued Tenancy in Public Housing and Youth Justice Outcomes: Evidence from New Zealand’ in published in the international journal Social Policy & Administration and can be read here: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/spol.70093