Relevant provision of the CRC: Article 40 CO 2011: Raise the minimum age of criminal responsibility, consider setting the age of criminal majority at 18 years, develop a broad range of alternatives to detention. Child victims of crimes/ child witnesses CO 2011: Ensure through adequate legal provisions and regulations that all children victims and or witnesses of crime are provided by the protection provided by the Convention 85. There are yet to be any concrete measures taken to broaden the jurisdiction of the youth justice system to cover 17 year olds, who are currently prosecuted as adults.44 However, there has been some indication that the legislative reform arising from the review of CYF may include extension of the child protection and youth justice systems to cover 17 year olds. This would require the definition of “young person” under the Children, Young Person and their Families Act 1989 to be amended to include 17 year olds within that definition. Such an amendment, which is broadly supported across the sector, would constitute the most significant step towards full harmonisation of New Zealand legislation with the CRC. 86. Considerable progress has generally been made in the youth justice sector. Youth prosecution rates have fallen steadily over the reporting period, as have the numbers of cases that have resulted in a custodial outcome or transfer to the District Court for sentence. The Government also refreshed its youth justice policy strategy with the launch of the Youth Crime Action Plan in 2013, which has included an emphasis on further enhancing the diversionary nature of the youth justice system. The Courts have also strongly reinforced the application of the CRC, most recently in the 2015 decision of the Court of Appeal in DP v R45, where the Court affirmed that “when dealing with a child charged with a criminal offence, a Court must recognise the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child”. 87. In order to enhance its responsiveness to young Maori, who are disproportionately represented in the youth justice system, the Youth Court has also expanded its use of specialist Rangatahi Courts for young Maori. This has led to an increase in the appointment of lay advocates to provide cultural assistance and advocacy. Pasifika Youth Courts have also been established in Auckland to provide a specialist response for Pasifika youth. Both the Rangatahi and Pasifika Courts are elective interventions and are generally available as an option once the young person has admitted the offence in the mainstream Youth Court. 44 17 year olds may currently be dealt with in the Youth Court, but only in respect of offences committed when they were aged under 17. 45 DP v R [2015] NZCA 476 at [10] 23