How safe is your city?

[MotherBear]

How safe is your city?
Christchurch and Auckland - NZ's most violent citites
By RUTH LAUGESEN - Sunday Star Times | Sunday, 30 December 2007

Auckland and Christchurch's central city areas are the crime capitals of New Zealand for violence and sex attacks but North Shore and Waikato are two of the safest places to live, new figures show.

Close behind Auckland and Christchurch is Counties Manukau Central, with large North Island provincial centres such as Hamilton, Gisborne and Rotorua making up the rest of the top 10 list of the country's most crime-ridden districts.

Christchurch Central topped the overall rates of violence offences, and was the nation's capital for grievous assaults, serious assaults, minor assaults and sexual attacks. It also topped the tables for burglary, car thefts, and property damage.

The figures, calculated by the National Party research unit from recorded crime figures to June 2007, rank offending in every police district in the country against population.

Auckland City Central had high rates of violent offending of all types, particularly for kidnapping and abduction, aggravated robbery, sex attacks, car thefts and theft. It was also the nation's drugs capital, topping the tables for both cannabis and methamphetamine offending.

Mayor John Banks said Auckland City's centre no longer felt safe at night. "I wouldn't feel safe walking with my wife around the streets of the Auckland CBD after the movies. The CBD has become something of a melting pot for very bad nocturnal behaviour."

The level of drunkenness on the streets was worrying. He said he would be working over the holiday period on a "high-level strategy" with the police and associated agencies tackling issues such as the high number of homeless people, "delinquent behaviour" and graffiti, and the patchy policing of a city-wide liquor ban for the streets.

He said some 30 homeless people slept in doorways each night. "They attract violence, they attract sexual assaults and they attract abuse," he said.

Christchurch mayor Bob Parker has slammed liberalisation of liquor laws and 24-hour alcohol sales for some of his city's problems, and says politicians have let down the public by making alcohol too easy to buy.

Police assistant commissioner Grant Nicholls said Auckland and Christchurch central's high crime rates were a combination of high numbers of people coming into those areas, mixed with alcohol, and a reflection of the way figures were calculated. The resident population in each area was low, meaning offending came out as a high rate against a low population base.

The crime rate in Auckland city had actually reduced over the past decade, he said. "Locations that offer concentrations of work or entertainment opportunities, such as central city areas, can generally be expected to show higher crime rates."

He said homicide rate figures should be treated with caution because there were only about 50 each year over the whole country, meaning figures could vary sharply from year to year.

From here .

[Dawn]

No surprise there then! The places with the most people have the highest crime rates! What an amazinginly insightful piece of research!!!!

And 30 people sleeping in doorways in CBD Auckland, oh my god!!!!! What epic numbers of homeless!!! I can understand why they can't handle the numbers!

[KiwiHopeful]

When you have the mayors of 2 of the 3 largest cities telling people not to go out at night, there's a problem.

But, you are right--it isn't a big problem. It's not like there are 300 hundred murders or something. So my question is, why haven't they done something about it?

[Taffy]

Has anyone else noticed the degree of stats that NZ likes to push in to print, 99% of which are pointless, and as KH says, 99% of which also nothing will happen with it? It's almost like the press want to try and make a reputation as a hard knock country, with real world problems just like all the other countries out there.

Stupidly, with a big enough push, most of NZ's problems could be sorted out easily enough. As Dawn mentions, 30 homeless people? You could clear the whole lot of them up and place them in some kind of home/shelter within a day.

I'm pretty confident in saying that the only reason these issues dont get solved is because politicians are too busy digging dirt on eachother to care whats going on.

You need the backing of 500 people to start a political party, and I want to have a go so whos up for it?!

[Dawn]

Yes Yes Tafmeister for Prime Minister!!

What should we call our party????

Be nice now

[Taffy]

Thats easy, we call it what we want to reflect: 'Get Real'

Or, if you're a member, 'The Monster Raving Looney Party'

[MotherBear]

Originally Posted by Taffy

You need the backing of 500 people to start a political party, and I want to have a go so whos up for it?!

Dear God, my son a politician. I'd never live it down.

Not sure how well The Vair Vair Party would go down with the general populace.

[Taffy]

So can I count on your support for the upcoming elections?

That sounded very politician-like, didnt it?

That would make it 498 supporters to go.

[MotherBear]

Originally Posted by Taffy

So can I count on your support for the upcoming elections?

Don't call me, I'll call you.

I won't say what I'll call you though.

And WG, is she ready to be a politician's wife?

Don't forget you'll have to go around kissing lots of babies.

[Taffy]

She'll be the one setting all the agendas!

One thing I forgot to mention, you have to pay to be a member:

Registration : How to apply to register a party