Frequently Asked Questions

What is the summary of statistics and how does it compare with previous years?

There were 416,324 recorded offences in the 2010/11 fiscal year, compared with 441,960 the previous year. This is a decrease of 5.8% or 25,636 offences.  

New Zealand’s resident population rose 1.2 percent in the same period and when this is taken into account, recorded offences per head of population dropped by 7.0%.

Where are the decreases in crime compared to previous years?

The following offence divisions decreased in recorded offences in 2010/11 from the previous year.

Offence division

Variance

Homicide and Related Offences

-23.8%

Fraud, Deception and Related Offences

-18.5%

Illicit Drug Offences

-14.7%

Weapons and Explosives Offences

-11.0%

Robbery, Extortion and Related Offences

-10.1%

Property Damage and Environmental Pollution

-10.0%

Offences against Justice procedures etc

-9.5%

Public Order offences

-6.5%

Abduction, Harassment and other related offences against a person

-5.3%

Miscellaneous offences

-4.2%

Acts intended to cause injury

-3.9%

Theft and related offences

-3.4%

Unlawful entry with intent/Burglary/Break and enter

-1.3%

What is the main proportion of recorded crime by offence divisions?

The offence divisions which make up the most crime, by proportion, are:

Offence division

Recorded

2010/11

Proportion recorded

Theft and related offences 

136.524

32.8%

Unlawful entry with intent/Burglary/Break and enter

59,361

14.3%

Property Damage and Environmental Pollution

55,531

13.3%

Public Order Offences

44,290

10.6%

Acts intended to cause injury

43,594

10.5%

Illicit drug offences

20,973

5%

What are the statistics by Police District?

The following table gives a breakdown of total recorded offences by District:

District

2009-10

2010-11

Variance

Variance / 10,000 population

Northland

17,240

16,275

-5.6%

-6.7%

Waitematä

38,511

36,160

-6.1%

-7.7%

AucklandCity

53,009

51,589

-2.7%

-4.0%

Counties Manukau

53,660

51,317

-4.4%

-6.1%

Waikato

35,818

35,162

-1.8%

-3.0%

Bay of Plenty

40,079

38,175

-4.8%

-5.8%

Eastern

25,609

25,644

0.1%

-0.9%

Central

32,430

30,266

-6.7%

-7.3%

Wellington

45,911

44,262

-3.6%

-4.5%

Tasman

18,156

16,637

-8.4%

-9.2%

Canterbury

53,755

45,904

-14.6%

-15.6%

Southern

27,782

26,933

-10.3%

-11.1%

TOTAL

441,960

416,324

-5.8%

-7.0%

Canterbury District had a big drop in recorded offences in this period - is that related to the earthquakes?

Recorded crime in Canterbury had been trending down but there was a large step-change after the earthquake in February. The drop in Theft and Property Damage was particularly noticeable. Offences at the less serious end of the spectrum reduced the most. Although small by value, these offences are traditionally large by volume. This change may be influenced by several factors including: good citizenship where people across Christchurch and the district rallied to help one another in the aftermath of the earthquake, the fact that much of the CBD remains within the closed Red Zone and the presence of high visibility policing.

What about the other districts?

There were decreases in 11 Districts of the 12 Districts with the exception of Eastern, which was stable (up 35 offences or 0.1% of the total). When adjusted for population increases all 12 Districts, including Eastern, had fewer offences per head of population and that is very pleasing.

But you resolved less crime than the previous year?

The national resolution rate dropped by less than 1% to 47.3% in 2010/11. Most of the changes was nothing to do with success rates in resolving offences. Instead it was caused by a change in the mix of offences, with the greatest reductions in offence volumes occurring in offences that have high resolution rates. This has the effect of reducing the overall average resolution rate, even when resolution rates for individual offences are not changing.

Recorded offences are counted as resolved when Police apprehend an offender and decide how to deal with him or her – eg by warning or prosecution.

The resolution rate is the percentage of recorded offences that are resolved within 14 days of the end of the year being reported on. If an offence is resolved 15 days or more after the end of the year then it will not appear in official crime statistics for that or any other year. The resolution rate therefore undercounts the number of cases that police has resolved. This phenomenon has a more marked impact for some types of offences than others, where lengthy investigations are required.

What impact has recent police practices had on the crime statistics?

Policing today is prevention focused - stopping crime and crash before it happens, allowing Police to focus on highly visible, preventative activities. An example of this is Neighbourhood Policing Teams, currently in place in three districts. More teams will be introduced throughout the year.

Can you explain the lower homicide rate?

Recorded Homicide and Related Offences decreased by 29 offences (-23.8%) in 2010/11, reversing the increase of 34 offences in 2009/10. Within this Division, there were only 34 murders in 2010/11, compared with 65 in 2009/10. This is the lowest figure on record since fiscal year crime statistics began being reported in 1986.

What is happening with family violence offending?

There were 1,696 fewer family violence offences recorded in 2010/11 than in 2009/10 – a 3.1% reduction. A total of 52,408 family violence offences were recorded compared with 54,104 during the same time last year. This 3.1% drop marks a strong reversal in the steady upward trend of recent years.

Within this figure there were 555 fewer family violence assaults - down -2.1% from 25,935 to 25,380 family violence assault offences. Most of these assaults were male assaults female which decreased by 904 from 8768 to 7864 offences. 

Changes in Family Violence Offences by District

District

2009/10

2010/11

Variance

% change

Northland

2327

2225

-102

-4.4%

Waitematä

4937

4550

-387

-7.8%

Auckland

3412

3063

-349

-10.2%

Counties Manukau

9497

8652

-845

-8.9%

Waikato

5059

4854

-205

-4.1%

Bay of Plenty

5322

5238

-84

-1.6%

Eastern

4443

5089

+646

+14.5%

Central

4159

4164

+5

+0.1%

Wellington

5828

5850

+22

+0.4%

Tasman

1878

1868

-10

-0.5%

Canterbury

4043

4026

-17

-0.4%

Southern

3199

2829

-370

-11.6%

TOTAL

54,104

52,408

-1,696

-3.1%

All Districts, other than Eastern, Wellington and Central, recorded fewer family violence offences. Both Wellington and Central Districts had negligible increases (+22 and +5 offences respectively). However, Eastern District recorded 646 more family violence offences (+14.5%) than the previous year. Eastern District personnel believe that the increase was caused by an increase in reporting.

Family violence offences represent the number of recorded offences which involve some degree of family violence. For example, if drugs are found by police attending a family violence assault, a drugs possession offence would be recorded as being family violence related. Whether or not these offences involve actual violence depends on the ingredients of the offence.

It is difficult to isolate the specific cause(s) the reduction in family violence during the year. Contributing to this is changes in Police training, recording practices and public awareness. Police has maintained its focus on family violence during the 2010/11 year. .

Campaigns such as ‘It’s Not OK’ and the introduction of Police Safety Orders and other initiatives reflect the emphasis police place on family violence offending.

Robbery, Burglary and Theft offence divisions all decreased?

There was a 10.1% reduction in Robberies and Related Offences in the 2010/11 fiscal year, with nine of the 12 districts experiencing decreases. The largest decrease was in Bay of Plenty, which recorded 72 fewer offences (-39.6%).  

Offences in the Burglary division reduced 1.3% in the latest fiscal year. Within this change, Dwelling Burglary increased 0.9%. However, New Zealand's population rose by 1.2% in the same period, which had the effect that the rate per head of population fell slightly.

Theft and Related Offences make up more than 30% of all recorded offences. The 2010-11 fiscal year saw a 3.4% reduction in Theft offences (down 4,833 offences). Most of this reduction came from Canterbury, and was dominated by a reduction in minor thefts following the earthquake in February. 

Recorded thefts increased in Auckland City District. Why?

Recorded thefts in Auckland City District increased by 8.5% (or 1,868 offences). Auckland Police believe that, among other things, this increase was due to a hike in thefts of scrap metal. Prices are high for many types of metal at present, and we would urge people to be mindful of this.

How do Police explain a large drop in illicit drug offences?

Recorded Illicit drugs offences reduced by 14.7% in 2010-11, from 24,580 to 20,973 offences. The largest reductions were in Cannabis (-14.6%) and New Drugs

(-19.4%), the latter being dominated by methamphetamine.  Reductions were recorded in distribution/dealing and possession/consumption of methamphetamine, although offences for manufacturing, and import/export offences were up slightly.

Reducing illicit drugs and drug related harm, particularly methamphetamine is a priority for police and our partner agencies.  We are running a long term methamphetamine control strategy to disrupt the supply of meth.  Meth seizures are continuing to increase.  The latest figures show that the amount of meth seized to the end of July 2011 (27.6 kg) has surpassed that seized in all of 2009.  Anecdotally drug users are reporting increased price and increased difficulty in sourcing the drug. 

Targeted and preventive measures such as going after the high end dealers, cooks and suppliers will ultimately disrupt the supply chain and cause a ripple through effect on the whole illicit drug market.

Police and OFCANZ continue to target gangs who deal in methamphetamine, disrupting their activities and seizing their cash and other proceeds of crime.  A number of high profile operations this year have led to the disruption in activities of gangs such as the Rebels, the Hells Angels and Red Devils.

During the fiscal year reporting period:

  • 37.9kg of methamphetamine was seized in 889 incidents by Police and Customs combined of which 11.9kg meth was seized by police in 868 incidents.  This compared with 33.5kg of meth seized in 749 incidents by Police and Customs combined in the previous year. 
  • Between 1 July 2010 and 30 June 2011 113 clan labs were dismantled.

Sexual