A Dunedin family say if something more had been done to help them with their troubled 14-year-old daughter a year ago, when they made their first pleas for help, her case might not be before the court and the girl on the run.
The girl's mother said it had been a frustrating and difficult year for her family and was concerned the same was happening to other families.
The girl, and two males aged 19 and 20 she was staying with, were recently arrested after police alleged the trio were involved in more than 50 burglaries in east Dunedin, including the thefts of several guns and ammunition.
The girl's stepsister said, in particular, it was not good enough that in the days before the arrests a Child, Youth and Family (CYF) social worker told her they knew the girl was staying with the men, who were known to police and CYF, and their mother, but that it was "probably safer" for the habitual absconder to stay there if she was going to stay anywhere.
CYF said it and several other organisations had worked with the girl and the family throughout the year, and at that stage nobody was happy with her staying there, but knowing her whereabouts was also preferable to not knowing.
The family said they first dealt with CYF about the girl a year ago after she, then 13, started running away, staying out all night, shoplifting, using drugs and alcohol, and carrying knives.
The agency paid to fly the girl to her stepsister in the North Island, but she said no-one from CYF checked to see how things were going after the girl arrived and after several months, her behaviour had become so bad, the stepsister no longer felt she or her home were safe.
She notified CYF that the placement had broken down, but that she had concerns for the girl and her family, if she went home.
"I knew my stepmother would not be able to manage her.
"But it was all just left for us."
With no other outcome available, the family flew the girl home, but claim they heard nothing more from anyone from CYF.
A few weeks later she went missing and police picked her up in the Octagon, where she had been camping with a protest group.
Her sister rang CYF again.
"I told them they [the mother and other family] cannot care for and protect her. I was assured they would do something about her."
Two weeks later, a meeting with CYF, the police, the girl's school, family and others involved with her case, was held, at which it was decided various supports were to be put in place around her truancy, mental health and other issues, but the family said they saw nothing happen after the meeting.
The girl was finally taken temporarily into CYF custody two days after she was arrested, after she threatened her mother, brother and then herself with a knife before running off.
On Sunday, the girl escaped from the CYF home, and is understood to be on the run with the 19-year-old with whom she was arrested.
"I just feel that if, back in September [last year], something had been done, the kid would not have to be dealt with in the youth justice system. We have been saying please help us for a year. It is just ambulance at the bottom of the cliff stuff," her stepsister said.
CYF southern regional director Kelly Anderson said CYF did not want to get into a "he said, she said" argument with the family.
It was important to realise CYF's obligations when dealing with troubled teens was different from its obligations to protect children who were in immediate danger from their families or others, she said.
With teenagers like this, whose behaviour was challenging and complex, there was no single answer and the kinds of changes that needed to take place required not only the young person to want to change, but also took time, she said.
"It is really about managing the situation, and having plans in place to manage it. You can't change it overnight."
The goal was always to encourage the girl to return home, rather than to somehow force her back or take her into CYF custody.
Police also visited the house the girl was staying in before her arrest and had a "firm" discussion with the two males about their responsibilities and that her parents wanted her home.
Teenagers had do something very serious before CYF would take them into custody for their care and protection, Ms Anderson said.
Even then, taking them out of the community was always only temporary, because they had to go back into it at some stage.
At the November meeting, several agreements were reached about what the different organisations would do to help the girl and her family, but they may not have had time to actually take effect during the fortnight before the girl was arrested.
At that stage, the family had agreed that with that support they would continue to try to care for the girl at home, she said.
The girl's mother said she had agreed to that, but knowing the girl was not being taken into custody, felt that was the option they had.
"It's not as if we want to admit we can't handle her. It's been really hard. She's got a big family and it's not as if we haven't tried."
She felt there should be some sort of secure facility where difficult teens could be dealt with before they became so dangerous they put themselves and others at risk.
"What's New Zealand creating? These kids aren't going to get any better unless they get proper attention.
"They're [CYF] helping now, but talk about shutting the gate after the horse has bolted."
