[cyberjimmy]

I haven't really come a cropper myself, but I get the impression that the occurence of crime isn't any different to any other country I lived in.

There's a proliferation of gangs in NZ with names like the Mongrel Mob, Filfthy Few, Head Hunters and Black Power who seem to be involved in at least some of the organised crime, namely illegal drug manufacture and supply. Films such as Once Were Warriors, and it's sequel, What Became of the Broken Hearted, are based on fact not fiction, although a lot of that violent gang scene has died off in recent years, and if truth be told they pretty much keep to themselves anyway.

Crime is probably under reported if anything in the UK, and over reported in NZ. I've often thumbed through the pages of The Herald or Dominion Post, and thought to myself, hmm, nothing happened in NZ again today!

Funnily enough, I don't feel threatened in my own country either, but then again maybe it's what you know, what you're used to and how streetwise you are. London isn't a fair comparison in any case. An awful lot of places are tame next to London. And likewise London is pretty tame next to some other places. New York for example is a zoo, isn't it?!