Two years of official crime stats now available
Hon Judith Collins
Minister of
Police
29 July 2016 Media Statement
Two years of official crime stats now available
Official statistics for June 2016 have been released by Statistics New Zealand today, completing the first two years’ of comparable data under the new method of reporting crime statistics.
In July 2014 Police introduced the Recorded Crime Victimisation and Recorded Crime Offender (RCVS and RCOS) statistics.
The new method provides for more open and transparent data and brings New Zealand’s data in line with other countries, including the United Kingdom and Australia.
Police Minister Judith Collins says the new dataset provides a much more detailed picture of what’s actually happening in our communities, and the circumstances around victimisation.
“Under the Prevention First operating model, Police has placed greater emphasis on victims and these statistics mean officers now have the most up-to-date data to inform their work.”
The two years of data show an increase in the total victimisation rate of 3.1 per cent, with 12,060 more victimisations in the 2015/16 year when compared to 2014/15 year.
“From this increase, 72 per cent is attributable to burglaries. Police remain committed to improving burglary resolution rates and reducing the number of burglaries.
“From next month, Police will also raise the priority level of house break-ins, moving it from the ‘volume-crime’ category to the ‘priority offence’ category,” Ms Collins says.