10. SIMON POWER (National—Rangitikei) Link to this
to the Minister of Police
Can she confirm that the number of violent offences has increased by one quarter, from 40,090 to 50,644, since 2000?
Hon PHIL GOFF (Minister of Defence) Link to this
Yes. Recorded violent offences per 10,000 of population, however, remained relatively static over most of the period—in fact, falling slightly from 2000-01 to 2004-05, but increasing in the 2005-06 year.
How can she claim that an increase, to around 140 violent offences a day, comes down to better reporting, when Detective Inspector Steve Rutherford of Counties-Manukau Police District told the New Zealand Herald last month, “… the reality is [violence] has escalated …”, “Domestics are becoming more violent.”, and the violence inflicted by young offenders has increased as they are more likely to be armed with “… [pieces] of wood, hammers, axes, firearms, knives, baseballs bats”—or does she know better than a front-line officer with 34 years’ experience?
The police advise me that by far the fastest-growing rate of crime is, sadly, in domestic violence. It is growing at twice the rate of other violent crime. But the police have also advised me—and the member can see this himself from the statistics—that there are particular times in our history when domestic violence has surged at remarkable levels, not so much, we think, because there has been an increase in the actual offending but because there has been much better follow-up by the police and much better legislation. [ Interruption] The member can say that, but he may recall that in 1993-94, under the last National Government, for 2 years in a row violent crime went up by 25 percent. That was a result, predominantly, of offending in the domestic violence area. Fortunately, today people regard domestic violence as being no less serious than violence in the community. There is better reporting of it and the police have better procedures now to ensure that when crime happens in the home, it is reported.
Jill PettisWhat further reports has the Minister received on the change in overall recorded crime per 10,000 population over the last decade?
Crime over the last decade is set out very clearly in the New Zealand crime statistics. They show that recorded criminal offences over the last decade have declined not only in absolute terms—from 482,000 to 426,000—but even more sharply when calculated, as the member asked, per 10,000 head of population. Overall, per capita reported crime over the last 10 years has, in fact, declined by a remarkable 19 percent—from 1,285 per 10,000 to 1,035 per 10,000. That is a pretty good record.
Heather RoyHow many of the 1,000 extra police promised by this Government will be based in Northland—an area currently with just 3.5 percent of total police officers—to combat violent crime, which has increased by over 24 percent in that region in the last year?
As the member suggests, there will be an additional 1,250 police staff—1,000 of them being front-line officers. That is the biggest increase in police staffing in the history of this country. Of course, the allocation of the police force is not done by politicians; it is done by the Commissioner of Police. It is done on the basis of criteria that place front-line police officers where they are most needed.
How does the Minister reconcile her view that a 6.9 percent increase in overall crime over the past year is due to better reporting with the view of her predecessor, George Hawkins, who last year stated that claims of under-reporting were “intemperate, misleading, and just plain wrong” and who also stated: “The methodology around recording and presenting crime figures is transparent and rigorous.”; who is right: her or Mr Hawkins?
I recall with some amusement that last year, when there was a more than 7 percent decline in the crime rate, National members would not accept the methodology. But whenever crime rates go up, suddenly they do accept the methodology. They should be consistent for one year after the other. [ Interruption]
Madam SPEAKERDoes the Minister stand by her statement last week that the 6.9 percent increase in recorded offences in the last year had been well signalled and was not a surprise; if so, on what specific occasions has she told the public of New Zealand that crime was increasing on her watch?
She was absolutely right that it was well signalled. Somebody from the police leaked the information to the Sunday Star-Times.
Chester BorrowsIs the Minister at all concerned at a leaked email from Counties-Manukau area commander Steve Shortland to police headquarters that expresses concern about a major build-up of unassigned files, including 900 serious cases, and that states that the police’s ability to respond to the next major event is severely restricted, when in March last year an audit of unassigned files was ordered after the Minister admitted there were 1,134 unassigned cases in Counties-Manukau—or has nothing actually been done about that since then?
The police commissioner assigns staff where the need is greatest, and the police commissioner is very happy that he has 1,000 extra front-line police staff that he will be able to assign. When Chester Borrows was a member of the police force, he will recall that the National Government was planning to cut police numbers by 540, after wasting $100 million on a failed computer scheme.
Ron MarkWill the Minister not accept that much of the violence that has now been reported in homes is a direct result of drug use, drug abuse, and drugs that have been distributed by gangs, and does he recall that in 1996 both he and Mike Moore said that 80 percent of the illegal drugs in New Zealand were distributed by gangs; if so, can he tell the House what this Government intends to do about gangs in this country?
I have a couple of points. Firstly, if the member reads the police commissioner’s statement, he will see that the drug that most worries the police is the drug called alcohol. That drug is regarded in every district as being the primary factor behind any increase in violence. Secondly, of course the member, and every member in this House, knows that drugs like methamphetamine make people more violent. The member knows full well that there is an increase in the number of clan-lab teams that have been set up—they are being very effective. Indeed, if the member looks at the police statistics for this year, he will see that the police have increased the amount of time spent on drug enforcement by 8 percent. That is a pretty good track record.
Can the Minister confirm that the number of violent offences remained relatively constant from 1997 to 2000—at about the 40,000 mark—but that over the next 5 years, under her stewardship, the number of violent offences increased to over 45,000, and in the last year it has increased to 50,644; does she agree that those statistics reflect a real increase in violent crime, or does she subscribe to the excuse put by assistant commissioner Grant Nicholls on National Radio that it is all because the police have changed their computer?
Well, it is easy for a member in this House to attack a public servant who cannot answer back. But if the member wants to know the answer rather than to just use political rhetoric, I will tell him. The basis on which the assistant commissioner said that was that a totally new computer system is in place now: the National Intelligence Application, which has replaced the Law Enforcement System. He will note that the bulk of the increase in violent crime came in 1 month: the first month in which the new computer system was set up. On that basis the assistant commissioner made that remark, and I think he was justified in doing so.