Big drop in recorded offences

Police are hailing a drop of 6.7% in recorded offences per head of population for the 2010 calendar year.

The annual crime statistics for the January to December 2010 calendar year were released today.

There were 426,345 recorded offences last year, compared with 451,405 in 2009. The resolution rate remained largely stable.

In real terms, recorded offences dropped by 5.6% (or 25 thousand) from the previous year.

But taking into account growth in New Zealand's resident population by just over one percent during the period, recorded offences per head of population dropped by 6.7%.

Acting General Manager Development, Kevin Kelly says the drop in recorded offences is an excellent result, and consistent with the long term trend.

"Total recorded offences per head of population have been trending downward since 1997.

"Strategies and policies taken at both a national and local policing level, along with partnerships with other agencies, are continuing to make a positive difference in our communities."

Eleven Police districts recorded drops in the total number of recorded offences while just one (Eastern) recorded an increase. However, adjusting for population growth, all districts recorded fewer offences per head of population last year.

There were 46 murders in 2010 compared with 65 in 2009. Across a 25-year period the murder trend remains flat. Within these figures, family violence murders dropped from 36 in 2009 to 25 last year.

There were 655 more recorded family violence offences (+1.2%) in 2010 compared to the previous year, a much lower rise than in recent years.

Mr Kelly says recent years have seen strong rises in recorded family violence offences, which peaked in mid-2010.

"There were fewer recorded family violence offences in the second half of last year, than in the same period a year earlier.

“Despite that, family violence is unacceptable in any form and communities are showing their intolerance to it. This shows the message is getting through,” says Mr Kelly.

Sexual Assault and related offending increased by 3.6% in 2010 from the previous year, driven almost entirely by recorded family violence, and may reflect greater reporting.

“We know most cases of sexual offending are not reported, and this remains a concern to Police. We urge all victims of sexual offending to report it to Police,” he says.

Drugs possession and use of illicit drugs offences dropped by 7.7% (864 offences) in 2010. Possession and use of methamphetamine and amphetamines dropped by 8.2%, while procurement and possession of cannabis dropped by 8.1%.

Theft and related offences, which make up more than 30% of all recorded offences, dropped by 5.4%, while burglary offences also dropped by 3.4% from 2009.

The greatest reduction in any division was in Fraud, Deception and Related offences, down 26.9% in 2010.

Among Police districts, Waitemata (-10.9%) had the biggest drop in recorded crime, followed by Auckland City (-9.9%) and Counties-Manukau (-7.8%).