[ Return ]

MEDIA RELEASE
31 May 2010


The Public Relations Institute of New Zealand (PRINZ) announces that the Communicator of the Year for 2009 is Judge Andrew Becroft.

Principal Youth Court Judge Andrew Becroft is an active, articulate, passionate and persistent advocate for youth justice and a communicator who richly deserves the PRINZ accolade.

While many judges avoid the limelight, Judge Becroft is prepared to front-foot his views on improving the way we deal with youth crime - and thereby reduce adult criminal offending.

Judge Becroft has taken on the delivery of a complex, perhaps counterintuitive and unpopular message which he fronts with conviction at events and to the news media. His message, that jail and boot camps turns young offenders into better criminals necessitating a new approach, is not an easy sell especially in an age of shortening sound bites where everyone is in search of the quick and easy fix.

Judge Becroft uses provocative and descriptive language to get his key messages across, with lines like "How to turn young offenders into adult criminals in 10 easy steps" heading his communications.

He has been quoted as saying that boot camps for young offenders simply "made them healthier, fitter, faster … they were still burglars, just harder to catch" and focuses early intervention, community involvement, interdepartmental co-operation and drug and alcohol programmes.

Judge Becroft's tenacity and commitment to his cause makes him a worthy recipient of the PRINZ Communicator of the Year Award.