7. JACQUI DEAN (National—Waitaki) Link to this
to the Minister of Police
What reports has she received on the latest trends in the level of crime in New Zealand?
Hon JUDITH COLLINS (Minister of Police) Link to this
I am very pleased to report that total recorded crime per head of population dropped by 6.7 percent in 2010. This result is a tribute to the dedication and tenacity of our law enforcement officers. The police have put more officers on patrol on the front line and are working closely with communities and other agencies to prevent crime happening in the first place. The Department of Corrections is also playing an important role by keeping the most dangerous people in our society securely locked away. At the same time it is focusing its efforts on rehabilitation in order to help offenders to stay out of trouble when they are released. I commend our law enforcement officers for these results and for the important work that they are doing to keep our communities safe.
Hon JUDITH COLLINS Link to this
One of the key factors is that this Government is determined to reduce the number of people who become the victims of crime. We have put extra police officers on the front line, passed new legislation to strengthen their ability to fight crime, and given them new tools such as Tasers and digital radios. We have also increased our focus on reducing the number of people who reoffend. There are now more prisoners than ever before undertaking drug treatment, work training, and education. However, these results do not signal that we will be relaxing our efforts to fight crime. Although the drop is consistent with a long-term trend, we will continue to back our law enforcement agencies, to keep up their great work.