Survey reveals volume and nature of crimes committed in New Zealand last year

Radio NZ News 20 December 2018
Family First Comment: Seven times the number actually reported!
“The survey suggested there were just under 1.8 million criminal offences in the past 12 months – that compares to about 256,000 reported to the police. The most common crime was burglary followed by harrassment, threatening behaviour and fraud.”

The country’s first crime and victims survey suggests almost two million crimes were committed last year, about seven times the number reported to police.

The Justice Ministry spoke to more than 8000 people for the project in an attempt to get to grips with the true volume and nature of crime in this country.

It found less than a quarter were willing to make a complaint.

People were asked if they’d been victims over the past 12 months, and 71 percent said they had not.

Of those who said they had been victims of crime, Māori and young people aged 20-29 made up the biggest numbers, while those over 65 were least likely to be affected.

But most wouldn’t bother going to the police.

Justice Ministry head of research James Swindells said that was due to a number of reasons, including people not realising a crime had been committed against them.

He said recent immigrants may also be reluctant to report what had happened because their experience with the police in their own country had not been a good one.

The survey suggested there were just under 1.8 million criminal offences in the past 12 months – that compares to about 256,000 reported to the police.
READ MORE: https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/378680/survey-reveals-volume-and-nature-of-crimes-committed-in-new-zealand-last-year