Government Cooking The Figures On Crime
17 July 2002
Government Cooking The Figures On Crime
Releasing some cooked statistics just hours after hundreds of people have marched in a law and order rally in Wellington proves how desperate the Government is to cover up what's really happening with violent crime, says National's Police spokesman, Tony Ryall, and Justice spokesman, Dr Wayne Mapp.
"George Hawkins and Phil Goff have released some manipulated figures, using a selective 10-month period, to try and claim that crime is trending down.
"The numbers are simply incomplete. There are still two months of crime statistics to be included and the information we're getting from senior police around the country is that the full year figures will show that violent crime has increased to another record level.
"The police have never before released figures covering just a ten-month period. This is clearly political manipulation of the police by George Hawkins and Phil Goff, trying to cover up the real picture, and the real trends, until after the election.
"We suggest that Mr Goff and Mr Hawkins spend more time listening to what New Zealanders really want, than cooking the crime figures," says Mr Ryall and Dr Mapp.
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