Government's focus on community policy, organised crime 'has nothing to do' with drop in crimes in 2018 - criminologist

February 15, 2019

Greg Newbold discussed the statistics on TVNZ1’s Breakfast.

A leading criminologist says the reduction in reported crime in 2018 is due mainly to a reduction in property crimes,

Speaking on TVNZ1's Breakfast today Professor Greg Newbold from the University of Canterbury disagreed with Police Minister Stuart Nash's assertion that the drop in crime is due to the coalition government's focus on community policy and organised crime.

"No, it’s got nothing to do with it. The reductions in reported crime are mainly driven by property crime. About half of all reported crimes are property crimes, and that’s driven by better security," Professor Newbold said.

Data released by the Government yesterday shows a significant reduction in the number of people who are victims of crime in 2018.

The number of victimisations recorded by police in the past year fell by 2.7 per cent, meaning 7240 less victims, Police Minister Stuart Nash said yesterday.

The data showed the drop in victimisations involved 1393 fewer crimes against a person and 5847 fewer crimes against property.

Professor Newbold says he's "not surprised" by the drop in crime, saying "crime figures have been trending down for about the last 10 years."

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