Custody 113. Courts retain the power to remand a child into police custody,142 an order that practically results in children and young people being held in police cells until alternative arrangements can be found. These orders are used as a last resort measure in cases where Oranga Tamariki does not have appropriate residential accommodation available for a child or young person subject to a custody order. The Youth Court has criticised the practice as in breach of the Convention.143 114. The Children’s Commissioner has called for removal of the power, noting that this would incentivise development of community-based custodial alternatives.144 The Children’s Commissioner noted that the number of children remanded into police custody increased considerably between 2015/16 and 2016/17.145 Special protection measures: Recommendations The Commission recommends that the Committee seek the following information from the New Zealand government: (a) Details of all measures to uphold the rights of children whose parents are in prison, including babies who reside with their mother in prison under the Corrections Act. (b) Details regarding all protective measures to support the health and wellbeing of children and young people directly affected by the Christchurch mosque attacks, including any further consideration given to expanding ACC coverage for those who have suffered a mental injury, and all measures taken in response to the report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the attacks. (c) Details of any updates to immigration and refugee policy and practice guidelines regarding migrant, asylum-seeking and refugee children, including any express provision for their views and best interests to be taken into account in processes and decision-making. (d) Details of any measures to provide special health and safety protections to all workers aged under 18. (e) Any measures to bring the minimum age of criminal responsibility into conformity with the Convention and General Comment No 24. (f) Details of any specific measures to respond to the prevalence of neuro-disability in the youth justice system, including data gathering, specialist support services (including in residential care), primary prevention strategies and legislative and policy changes. (g) Details of all specific measures, including additional funding, support services and primary prevention strategies, designed to address the inequality experienced by tamariki and rangatahi Māori in the criminal justice system. 142 Under section 238(1)(e) of the Oranga Tamariki Act. This power was not removed in the review of the Act. Police v BM, Youth Court, Christchurch, 28 November 2016, Minute of Judge Murfitt at [6] 144 https://www.occ.org.nz/assets/Uploads/Youth-Justice-Police-cells-June-2018.pdf 145 We also note that the numbers of children and young people remanded in youth justice residences under Youth Court custody orders has also increased markedly from 2014-16 and have remained at similar levels since. See https://www.orangatamariki.govt.nz/assets/Uploads/20181018-Youths-remanded-in-youth-justice-facilities-andremand-homes.pdf 27 143