In this Annual Report, we cover how 2012/13 was a year in which recorded crime fell a further 7.4 percent, year-on-year, with 29,337 fewer recorded offences than the year before. The total of 365,185 recorded offences was the lowest in more than 30 years. The road toll was 317, remaining close to 2011/12 levels which were the lowest since official records began.

In 2012/13 New Zealand Police took stock of the ways we’ve been measuring our performance, and reduced things down to a handful of goals:

1. Reducing crime. As crime reduces, the financial, economic and social costs of crime are also reduced. Further and related to (3), people are much more secure and much less anxious if they are not victimised in the first place.
2. Reducing death and injury on the roads. This is a source of great community distress (and financial and economic cost). Reducing road trauma and harm has benefits to all.
3. Protecting communities. The communities, and people, that are preyed upon deserve our protection. Repeat victimisation, and the fear and distress it causes needs to be reduced. 
4. Maintaining trust in the Police. This ensures Police will operate by public consent, and is able to fulfil its functions. It is vital Police’s independent powers are balanced by accountability to the public.

By targeting our efforts, New Zealand Police will be better able to deliver the goals we’ve set in our Statement of Intent, and we’ll also support wider government goals, across multiple sectors. The Annual Report provides a report card against what we set out to achieve. 

The risk of a terrorist attack in New Zealand is low, but Government are determined that New Zealand and New Zealanders be neither the target nor source of terrorist activities.

The designation of terrorist entities is one measure New Zealand takes to contribute to the international campaign against terrorism. The Terrorism Suppression Act 2002 (TSA) provides for a list of terrrorist entities to be established and maintained in New Zealand. Police are responsible for coordinating requests to the Prime Minister for designation as a terrorist entity. 

The following documents detail designations that were renewed as terrorist entities on 2 October 2013.

The new Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act 2012 states that when developing a draft or provisional Local Alcohol Policy, a Territorial Authority must consider a range of factors set out in the Act, including the nature and severity of the alcohol-related problems arising in the district. To that end, Police (along with Licensing Inspectors and Medical Officers of Health) must make reasonable efforts to give the Territorial Authority any relevant information they may hold.

These North Island reports analyse calls made by the public to police between 1 January 2008 and 31 December 2012 and fall into the categories are considered to be alcohol-related. They are presented visually in the attached maps by individual years. The calls do not include those initiated by Police (ie, officer-discovered contact with the Communications Centre) and exclude duplicate calls.

The method by which the calls have been analysed is detailed within the reports.

These reports are being made public in order to fully inform the discussion around Local Alcohol Policies.