[1] Becroft was born in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and attended Rongotai College before graduating from Auckland University with BA and LLB (Honours) degrees in 1981.

[8] He was succeeded in the position by Judge Frances Eivers, who in accepting the role, acknowledged the contribution of Becroft in working tirelessly to improve the lives of many children and young people in New Zealand.

[9] Becroft challenged the independence of a new departmental agency set up the New Zealand Government in 2021 to monitor the standards of state care for children overseen by Oranga Tamariki.

[10] As the debate about this continued into 2022, Becroft was quoted in a news item as saying that "an independent monitor, empowered to speak out as a watchdog on behalf of New Zealand’s children, was required".

He suggested an alternative model that aimed at strengthening families, and by planning that focused on "early intervention work and prevention...[involving]...many more social workers, resources and hours, but in the long-run it may well end up much cheaper".

It was noted Becroft had said that there needed to be a more strategic approach toward changing systems and structures that included an explicit commitment to working with whānau, hapū and iwi.

[23] In a 2014 paper, Becroft identified school — along with family, friends and community — as being key "protective factors against future adverse life outcomes, including criminal offending".

He noted that dealing with issues such as bullying and attendance required the building of resilience of children, but that the key was accepting the link between poverty and engagement in school, acknowledging the disparity between Māori and Pākehā child wellbeing rates and identifying and working with meeting the special needs of some students.

[33] In being named as a semi-finalist for the 2022 New Zealander of the Year Awards, Becroft was noted for being "vocal in his calls for further resourcing of the Royal Commission's Inquiry into Abuse in Care and [as] a tireless campaigner for the rights of children".