Over the past several years, there has been media commotion about the term ram raids and the escalation it has brought to youth crimes. Whilst there have been media claims towards increasing youth crime numbers and speculation from mainstream media about ram raiders’ involvement in crime; the statistical evidence seems to state otherwise. The media is a powerful institution that can lead to constructing discourses that can influence the attitudes of the general public and in turn lead to various policy changes. Ram raiders are presented in the media through predominantly negative narratives and have increased discussions in regard to controlling the youth from ram-raiding behaviour. There currently is no research that directly examines the discourses of youth ram raiders in New Zealand media. Therefore, this thesis will use a Foucauldian discursive approach to analyse the representation of the term ram raiders in newspaper articles in New Zealand media, and the consequences that arise as a result of such discourses. The results showed that there were three discourses identified: the criminal discourse, the outsiders discourse, and the moral panic discourse, alongside a competing discourse of youth as victims. The criminal discourse was identified as the dominant discourse which emphasises youth committing ram raids as an individualised issue. The outsiders discourse was supported by the criminal discourse and linked ram raiders to gang members and ethnic minorities further creating an us vs them rhetoric. Moral panic was a discourse that emphasised the power held by the media as the publications reached an extensive audience presenting ram raiders as criminals and outsiders creating a moral panic in public. A competing discourse was identified with ram raiders being presented as the victims shown to be a necessary addition to the conversation. It provided an alternative perspective that challenged the dominant discourse to allow for a well-rounded representation of the ram raiders. Further discursive practices represented the positionality of public and political figures leading to the punishment of young people participating in ram raids.