Suspicions are growing that this weekend's standoff at an Oranga Tamariki youth justice facility was copycat behaviour.

Five teens got onto the roof at South Auckland's Korowai Manaaki facility on Saturday evening, spending the night and most of yesterday up there.

Former Lead Police Negotiator Lance Burdett says it's similar to an incident that happened the week before at a similar facility near Christchurch.

He says more forceful approaches shouldn't be used because they can backfire, like the parliament protests.

Burdett told Tim Dower that Oranga Tamariki could take this opportunity to improve for future incidents.

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