Hon Amy Adams

Minister of Justice

31 October 2016

Challenges remain in latest justice BPS results

Crime is significantly down over the last five years, but the latest figures highlight that more work needs to be done to drive it down further, Justice Minister Amy Adams says.

The Justice Sector’s BPS results for the quarter ending June 2016 released today show increases in all four measures, although all remain down on 2011 levels.

“While there has been great progress in the BPS results since 2011, it’s become clear that the easy gains in reducing crime are over and we need to continue to develop new ways to bring crime down further,” Ms Adams says.

“Across the board, we’ve been challenging ourselves to think differently about how we tackle some of the complex issues facing our justice system. At the heart of this work is the Investment Approach to Justice which is aimed at assisting justice and social sector agencies identify and address the core issues that can help prevent crime occurring and reduce harm.”

The BPS measures in the June quarter are as follows:
· total crime rate up 1.4 per cent (down 15 per cent since 2011)
· violent crime rate up 3.2 per cent (down 4 per cent since 2011)
· youth crime rate up 5.3 per cent (down 33 per cent since 2011)
· re-offending rate up 0.9 per cent (down 5.6 per cent since 2011).

“Progress is also being made in the three supporting measures announced in March,” Ms Adams says.

“Violence in dwellings, strongly correlated with family violence, has continued to grow and are now three per cent above June 2011 levels. This increase is consistent with the Government’s strong focus on addressing family violence which encourages more people to report this appalling form of abuse.

“Violent crimes recorded in public places have also continued to increase but are still 19 per cent below what they were in June 2011.

“Meanwhile, the re-offending rate deteriorated slightly in the June quarter, but the actual number of re-offenders is still 25 percent lower than baselines.”

Ms Adams says the Government has made a strong commitment to crime prevention and reduction, better supporting police and supporting victims.

“We will continue to focus on addressing crime in all its forms in New Zealand.”

ends

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