With youth crime dominating headlines and the government doubling down on punitive measures, Ram Raid Mums offers a powerful, humanising alternative. Liam Rātana reviews.

It’s easy to say that all criminals should be locked up. That we should throw the book at people who break the law in an attempt to deter them from reoffending. The thing with that approach is it doesn’t actually solve anything. Putting people in prison doesn’t fix the root causes of crime. When it comes to youth crime, imprisoning young people usually leads to them joining gangs and going on to commit further crime, potentially becoming career criminals.

If prison isn’t the answer, then there must be an alternative. Prime minister Christopher Luxon has long admitted there is a need to solve the root causes of crime – poverty, poor housing, poor healthcare, poor education, unemployment and economic inequality, just to name a few. However, the government’s policies instead seem focussed on punitive measures, such as imprisonment and the establishment of boot camps, rather than preventive policy.

One of the most highly publicised issues the government and police have been grappling with in recent years is the ram raid epidemic. According to police data, there have been a total of 173 ram raids in 2024 as of November 15. This is down significantly on 2023, in which police recorded 495 ram raids for the year, more than one every day.

In response, parliament introduced the Ram Raid Offending and Related Measures Amendment Bill, which passed its first reading on August 29, 2023. The bill underscores a shift towards holding young offenders accountable, particularly by introducing harsher measures at younger ages. By criminalising ram-raiding as a distinct offense with severe penalties, the aim is to deter future offences and reduce glamourisation. Ram raids would be punishable by up to 10 years in jail, and give police the power to prosecute children as young as 12 years old.

While many may agree that punitive measures and deterrence are the best way to solve the issue, a new documentary shows there are other ways to help young offenders. Ram Raid Mums on TVNZ+ shines a light on the ram raid epidemic plaguing the streets of Auckland. Based in Papakura, production of the documentary began over two years ago, during what was arguably the height of the issue.

We meet three mums whose children have all been involved with ram raids together, and follow the journey of Sonnie, a young ringleader who is fighting to turn his life around after engaging with a community group called Mana Inc. Directed by Brandon Te Moananui (Ngāti Tameterā, Ngāti Hako, Ngāpuhi), the documentary illustrates the positive impact alternative measures can have on youth who find themselves on the wrong side of the law.

Marama, Debs and Jan – the three mums – begin by detailing the harrowing experiences they have endured desperately trying to keep their sons out of prison and away from bad influences. It quickly becomes apparent that Sonnie is a key figure in the group’s escapades. 

Sonnie’s story is all too familiar for many youth in Aotearoa – broken families, parents with addiction issues, a lack of support, and no food in the cupboards. Naturally, Sonnie was forced to fend for himself, which led to him stealing cars and committing aggravated robberies. Sonnie’s openness is credit to the relationship Te Moananui has built with the teenager, who admits throughout the documentary that he finds it hard to express his feelings. This helps viewers quickly build a relationship with Sonnie, helping to humanise him and showing him as more than just a young offender.

Usually, the trajectory for people like Sonnie ends with them committing more serious crimes, joining a gang, and spending their lives in and out of prison. It’s a stereotype that many unfortunately fill. However, Sonnie’s future now looks a little brighter, thanks to intervention from community group Mana Inc. The group has six pou, providing course participants with exposure to everything from coding and robotics to outdoor experiences, kapa haka, driver licensing and forklift training. They even help participants through the judicial process.

The documentary provides a unique insight into the state of mind and circumstances that lead to youth committing such crimes. It taught me that the ram raids weren’t just about racking up clout on social media and that deeper issues were contributing to the problem. With Te Moananui following Sonnie’s journey so intimately, the interviews with the initially shy teenager are surprisingly candid, capturing the raw emotion and feelings as Sonnie navigates his path forward.

Fed up with a lack of support and desperate for help, the mothers turned to Mana Inc. to see if there was any way the group could steer their sons away from a life of crime. While the focus was initially on the youth, the mothers soon realised they too had to deal with their own trauma to help break a cycle of poverty and crime. The three women openly reveal their own issues in sit-down interviews, which ties into showing how Mana Inc also focuses on the whole family unit.

Sonnie continues his journey of transformation, committing to the programme. and eventually choosing to hand himself in to police, in order to deal with the paranoia he has about potentially being “nicked” at any moment. With an initial indicative sentence of around four and a half years imprisonment, Sonnie is challenged with continuing his commitment to the work with Mana Inc.

Although the firsthand perspective of the victims is visibly lacking at times, Te Moananui and producers Nicole Horan (Ngāti Maniapoto) and Becs Arahanga (Kai Tahu, Waitaha, Ngāti Raukawa) are cognisant of this fact, with the documentary spending a good chunk of time near the end attempting to balance the narrative, covering Sonnie’s restorative justice hui with some of his victims. Eventually, Sonnie receives a drastically reduced sentence of four months’ community detention.

As Mana Inc chief executive Kelly Teariki-Peterson (Ngāti Rangiwewehi) admits, there is still much work for Sonnie to do, but his participation in the programme has clearly had a positive impact. The key was Sonnie’s ability to work towards positive change before being locked away in a prison cell, where he would have likely been recruited into a gang and gone on to commit more crime. Instead, Sonnie was determined to create a positive change and be an example to his friends that change is possible and there are other pathways out there for people in similar circumstances.

Ram Raid Mums is an inspirational labour of love. Modern graphics and animations with a youthful spin add to the impressive production. It is beautifully shot and a well produced documentary that approaches sensitive issues with careful consideration. While it can feel like an expensive advert for Mana Inc at times, the story is carried well through multiple perspectives and interviews, including the police. Although the documentary is clearly arguing against the status quo of imprisonment and harsh penalties for young offenders, it acknowledges that crimes have been committed that have had a negative impact on the victims. Ram Raid Mums illustrates that there are alternatives to prison and bootcamps that can have a far more positive effect on youth who just need a little aroha.