Crime

[essexgirl]

Hey

A big concern for my family and i and a very high factor of wanting to leave the UK is crime. We live in Essex which is about 30 mins from London.

I live in what used to be a small village most people knew each other went about thier daily business while looking out for each other and just getting on with things. NOW it is a horrible trap where you are scared to go out scared to stay in on a weekly basis the police helicopter is over, we then lock everything down and hope and pray there are no shots fired. We have 8 year old kids walking around on the street with knives being part of gangs. We have a dog that cant stay in or own back garden for fear of someone jumping over the 6 foot wall and talking him and we cant walk is right outside our home beacuse he and my mother have been attacked on several occasions by other dogs of thier leads while there owners watch.
I do not feel safe going out past dark and even in the day there attacks in the street. If you break down no one will stop and help you a. because no one cares b.because everyone is too scared of what you might have in your car c. most people are drunk or on drugs so have no idea of whats going on around them.
There is absolutly no respect in most of this country policeman are half scared most of the time, firefighters are attacked whilst putting out fires by local yobs and ambulance crew have life saving equipment stolen whilst tyring to save lifes. All police and ambulance crew wear stab vests.

Of course all of these things dont happen every single day but happen often enough to make you scared and not want to live your life to the full. I should be able to walk down the street where i have lived for all of my life and not feel scared but i do.

Thats without the general threat of going to a shopping centre, on a train and walking around a city that you are going to be blown up.

Please tell me people of this forum that New Zealand is far removed from this awful island i am living on. I think it is from what i have read but you cant know better than from the people that are living there.

thanks

[Taffy]

Hi Lara,

It's important to know that NZ isn't a crime free paradise. In some parts of the country crime, drugs and gangs are also dominant features of life. The thing is though, that for the best part, NZ IS a safe country to live. You do feel safe walking down the road at whatever time of day, depending on where you live of course. Gangs only tend to fight with other gangs, and leave the general population out of it. Serious crimes tend to be solved and in most neighbourhoods, people look out for eachother.

South Auckland has the worst reputation in the country, and when you see it you can tell it's probably not a nice place to live. There's a lot of graffiti and run down houses. Apparently Gisbourne has serious gang issues, but I'm not certain of that never having been there.

The thing is, here you can usually tell whats a good and bad area just by looking at it. It's easier to find a good neighbourhood than a bad one, and often the biggest issues in choosing an area are the reputation of the local schools and the houses available to buy - some parts have old houses which can be damp and draughty!

So in short, NZ does suffer from crime (show me a country that doesn't) but in all the time I've been here I've never once felt threatened. I feel safe in the city centre no matter what time of day or night.

You can live in much worse places than NZ!

[Cliff]

We do have crime but it is smaller also not often very violent. You don't have guns here. The police don't carry them if that tells you anything but they do have the, in a lock box in their car.

A murder is front page news around the country.

Kids and I mean small young kids, walk along the sidewalk to school here everyday. You don't see that anymore in the USA in most places as it is too dangerous.


Hope that helps.

Cliff

[Meadow]

Hi
we like yourselves came over as had enough of life in Glasgow with the crime,main decision maker for us was my then 18yrold son was on a bus coming home from a practice in his band.
Him and his pal were sitting near the fire exit when the bus stops and this gang open the door and start hauling of Andrews pal,kicking and spitting on them.
The bus driver didnt make any attempt to stop this happening or even move on. just sat watching
Luckily the yobs didnt get any of them off the bus,or i really dread what couldve happened.
That was one of the final decisions,though we had other issues with work etc.
So we decide to come over and my son decides to stay,so im still worrying about him. Worse he lives with my parents and my mum has sleepless nights now when he goes into town at night.Im hoping that he decides to live here after he visits at xmas.I keeep bombarding him with pics and i think its working
We are in Chch and i must admit its nothing like what we had back home.
Having said a wee girl was recently took from her home and murdered,and some idiots attacked tourists.
You will still have your concerns with your kids,but thats just being a parent,im sure if i had no kids,then i wouldnt have any worries at all prob in N.Z
So there is crime,but i havent seen it with my own eyes,just watching the news.
We are not scared to go walks at night
And its great seeing all the kids cycle carefully to school and not have to jump onto road to avoid getting mowed down.
It was my sons first day at school yesterday hes 6
and the kids were lovely and well chuffed to show him around
He said its the best school hes ever been to
Hes only been to 1 other mind you,but its great to see how much he loves it here
Im sure you will feel much safer here,though do your research about areas,we found that our research was very accurate.
Good luck

[essexgirl]

Thanks everyone for your replys, its great to get a real perspective. Really pleased with what i have read so far.
We have been watching on the tv channel men and motors in the UK a series called police10/7 and motorway patrol, they give a insight into the crime and driving etc and are good to watch. The difference with the police in nz to here looks like they are actually listend to and respected. The police seam much more laid back which is also nice . Any more thoughts on crime would be greatly appreciated.