This document discusses perceptions of youth violence in New Zealand. It finds that media portrayals of youth crime exaggerate the level of violence by focusing on individual cases without context. Statistics show that while youth apprehensions for violence have increased in recent decades, violence offenses make up a small portion of total youth crimes. Public surveys find many people overestimate youth offending and favor punitive responses, but provide less punitive views when given more case information. The document advocates for good assessment of individual youth to determine appropriate interventions for reducing violence.