District retains lowest offending for the country

The North Shore/Waitakere/Rodney Police District has recorded a 3.5 % increase in recorded crime for the year ending December 2003.

However the District still has the lowest rate of offending for the country per ten thousand of the population and 49.6 % of all recorded crime is solved. The national resolution rate is 43.5%.

“As the population continues to increase rapidly in all areas of the District, the increase in crime for the last calendar year can be expected,” says Superintendent Roger Carson, North Shore/Waitakere/Rodney District Commander. “It is pleasing that the rate of crime resolution remains consistently high which is a tribute to my staff who work very hard in the District,” says Superintendent Carson.

“Despite the increase in crime we have maintained a high resolution rate, which indicates police are achieving excellent results through focusing on offenders and crime patterns and also working closely with a range of partners in the community”.

Violent offences are down for the past year after an increase of 3.4% in 2002. In 2003 grievous, serious and minor offences all reduced. The number of violent attacks last year was 2006, compared to 2240 in 2002. All eight homicides in the District were resolved in 2003.

Sexual offending is also down from 317 in 2002 to 255 for the past year, a reduction of 23%.

“Living in a community that feels and is safe is a top priority for police,” says Superintendent Carson. It is pleasing to see that Rodney and North Shore are placed fifth and seventh respectively out of 52 areas for the whole country as having the least amount of violent offending. Waitakere records 57 violent offences per 10,000 population, well below the national rate of 61.5.

Rodney has 35 violent attacks per 10,000 of the population, that has remained consistent and is a positive considering the population growth in the past few years.”

Auckland Metro Road Policing is part of the District’s operations, including the motorways network and Traffic Alcohol Group(TAG). Going against the national trend, there was a reduction in the District’s road toll with 24 road fatalities for the year compared with 33 in 2002 and 34 for 2001.

“The aims of various operations undertaken by District Road Policing Staff can be judged by their outcomes and the year had good ones including not a single fatal or serious injury crash during the official Christmas holiday period,” says Superintendent Dick Trimble, Road Policing Manager. There was a high police visibility on the highways and District roads during the year with the aim of road safety and the result is a community effort involving not just police but also strategic partners,” says Superintendent Trimble.

House burglaries for the District increased in 2003. However since 1999 there have been significant reductions in this area of offending, with the number of burglaries down by more than two thousand.

Last year there were 3752 house burglaries, which compares to 3279 in the previous year, producing an increase of 14%. However the rate of new housing has also increased by 50% over the last ten years.

On the North Shore there were 1301 dwelling burglaries for 2003, compared to 1050 the previous year. North Shore recorded 70 dwelling burglaries per 10,000 population, well below the national rate of 104.4 offences per 10,000

House burglaries in Waitakere have been declining since 1994 but last year there were 1877 dwelling burglaries, compared with 1799 the previous year, an increase of 4.3%. Last year the Waitakere Area recorded the highest number of resolutions on current record with 320.

“There is not one clear reason for the sudden rise in house burglaries but police responded quickly to the mid year increase in thefts from houses and vehicles,” says Superintendent Carson. “This has involved changes in how we respond to burglaries with a dedicated “Burglary Desk” at Waitakere Area Headquarters, a unique initiative for the country aimed at reducing the number of burglaries.

“We have Crime and Crash Reduction Teams in the community who will continue to focus on repeat offenders as well as community education initiatives to help people make their homes more secure so they do not become easy targets for those on the prowl.”

In 2003 Drug Offences also increased on a national scale as well as in the District. Police believe that increase is directly attributable to a rise in methamphetamine.

In 2002 there were 435 non-cannabis drug offences in the District, but last year saw an increase of nearly 55% to 673 recorded offences.

“There are some good results from this year’s statistics that have been developed through the hard work of police as well as support from strategic partners throughout the District,” says Superintendent Carson.

Issued by
Jayson Rhodes
Police Communications Manager
North Shore/Waitakere/Rodney Police District
4889 758 or 027 281 0271