Keeping the pressure on known criminals by proactively using tactics such as bail and curfew checks has made it harder for people to reoffend, but it has also contributed to a modest 1.5 percent increase in overall recorded crime for the Wellington Police District last year.
A total of 43,349 offences were recorded last year, 620 more than in the previous 12 months. The police resolution rate was relatively stable on 45.2 percent (compared with the national average of 42 percent), just .5 percent or 70 offences less than in 2000.
Superintendent John Kelly, Wellington Police District Commander, said he was pleased with what police had achieved across the district given staffing pressures and the range of complex and intensive investigations and operations carried during the last 12 months.
Although more violent crime and property damage offences were reported last year it was the 29.4 percent increase in administrative offences which affected the 1.5 percent increase in overall crime.
"Cracking down on criminals by using tactics like bail checks has helped prevent offending opportunities, particularly burglaries, " he said. "It’s a very effective tool and one that we’re deliberately using as part of our intel supported crime strategies.
"This good work of catching people for bail and court order breaches is making it harder for them to break into houses or commit other crime. The downside is that it is recorded as an administrative offence so it has impacted on our overall crime statistics."
A total of 2484 administrative offences was recorded, the bulk of which were for breaching bail or other court orders.
Mr Kelly welcomed the decreases in dishonesty (down 1.7 percent), sexual (down 12.8 percent) and drugs and anti social (down 4.1 percent) offending. There was also minimal change in corresponding resolution rates.
"I’m really pleased that we’ve reduced burglaries by 8.9 percent and vehicle crime by 9.3 percent," Mr Kelly said. "It’s a key result area for us and one that staff have worked particularly hard at.
"Wairarapa, Lower Hutt, Kapiti Mana and Wellington Area have all significantly reduced the number of burglaries by profiling known offenders and implementing directed patrols in those ‘hot’ offending locations.
"It’s also encouraging to see what can be achieved by working together with local authorities and community agencies to make neighbourhoods safer," he said.
"Police activity and steps like better street lighting and more neighbourhood support groups are making a difference."
A total of 5669 burglaries was recorded last year, 556 less than the previous 12 months. Vehicle crime such as car conversion dropped 293 offences to 2845. The resolution rate for burglaries dropped 2.1 percent but increased 1.7 percent for vehicle crime.
Mr Kelly said violent crime continues to be a concern, particularly for serious and minor assaults and intimidating or threatening behaviour.
Violent crime rose 5 percent or 235 offences in the district but police also solved more violent crime. The biggest variance in recorded violence was in Lower Hutt Area with a 15 percent increase over the year 2000 total, but staff there also lifted their resolution rate by 1.7 percent.
"Understanding and tackling violence is a priority, whether it’s happening in the home or on the streets where people are gathering socially," Mr Kelly said.
"It’s not immediately clear why we’re experiencing more violent crime although alcohol is a common factor. This is something we’ll be giving close attention.
"We’re already directing our patrols into areas where alcohol consumption is likely to lead to offences being committed. The vibrant dining and nightlife scene in places like Wellington City is an obvious magnet for local residents as well as those from Kapiti and the Hutt Valley.
"It’s important that people can enjoy themselves and do so in safety. Unfortunately alcohol is often accompanied by people using their fists, provoking fights, smashing windows or damaging other property.
"Society needs to be less tolerant of this sort of behaviour."
Wellington Area uses tactics and partnerships
Wellington Area police staff are focusing on tactical strategies and community partnerships to minimise crime risks.
Acting Inspector Paul Berry, the acting Wellington Area controller, said profiling and targeting recidivist offenders has successfully reduced burglaries by 1.6 percent.
"Our tactics staff profiled 40 identified recidivist offenders as part of Operation Sweep and assigned those profiles to Group and CIB staff working out of Wellington Central, as well as the Kilbirnie and Johnsonville community policing centres," he said.
"Each group or squad took ownership of that profile and was responsible for updating intelligence on the target, making home visits, using bail checks and other initiatives.
"We looked at where crime was happening and also used traffic enforcement as a weapon.
"Operation Sweep is ongoing and it continues to be very successful with numerous arrests and a prevention aspect."
Overall, recorded crime rose 2.3 percent to 16,938 offences in Wellington Area last year (up 383 offences on the year 2000 figures).
Administrative offences rose 23.7 percent primarily through the police generated activity of bail checks as a tactical crime prevention and reduction measure. Property damage, dishonesty and violent crime also increased but there were significant decreases in sexual offending (down 19.7 percent) and drugs and anti social offending (down 19 percent) respectively.
Violent crime, especially minor assaults, continues to be a problem, as is the 12.3 percent rise in theft and the 16.7 percent increase in property damage, primarily due to wilful damage offences.
Several initiatives are being taken to minimise crime. These include:
Community Constables working to increase the number of Neighbourhood Support Groups, providing crime information and distributing burglary information packs.
Assisting Wellington City Council with an inner-city lighting study to identify poorly lit areas and improve environmental safety.
Partnership with the Wellington City Council for the beat office and the WCC Streetwise project. Police share intelligence with and help train Streetwise staff. In turn the Streetwise safety officers are feeding information back into police which is helping investigations and intelligence gathering.
Kapiti Mana Area achieves improved results
Kapiti Mana police staff worked hard to achieve a 4.3 percent drop in recorded crime and lifted their crime resolution rate by nearly one percent.
Inspector John Spence, Kapiti Mana Area Controller, said the drop in recorded crime, particularly sexual offending and dishonesty was really encouraging.
"Our staffing has been under pressure although the future is much brighter so it’s very satisfying to see that we’ve kept the pressure on offenders."
Mr Spence said he’s very happy with the 18.3 percent reduction in household burglaries (down 267 offences on the year 2000 figures) and the 9.3 percent drop in car conversion (55 fewer offences than the previous year).
"The small 1.5 percent rise in violence is a concern and most of it is for serious assaults," he said. "Alcohol seems to be a common theme so we’ll be taking a closer look at this aspect," he said.
More crime but more solved in Lower Hutt Area
Crime rose 4.4 percent in Lower Hutt Area in the last 12 months but police also solved more crime, lifting their resolution rate by 3 percent to a new three-year high of 43.4 percent.
Dishonesty and property damage offending dropped but violence, sexual offending, drugs and anti social, property abuse and administrative offending all increased.
Inspector Bruce Dunstan, Lower Hutt Area Controller, said the number of administrative offences nearly doubled and this was directly due to enforcing bail checks and court order warrants.
"We’ve deliberately set out to use bail checks as a strategy to reduce dishonesty offending," he said. "This tactic is highly successful and is reflected in the 7.3 percent drop in dishonesty."
A total of 5062 dishonesty offences were recorded, 401 fewer than in the previous 12 months. Burglaries dropped 11.9 percent, car conversion 23.3 percent and theft 1.2 percent.
Burglary and general dishonesty offending has benefited from targetting known offenders and locations, directed patrols and including traffic enforcement as an additional weapon.
Mr Dunstan said the 38.6 percent increase in sexual offending is a concern, particularly for indecent assaults.
"There has been a problem with indecent assaults on schoolgirls," Mr Dunstan said. "Several operations have been put in place and resulted in arrests."
Mr Dunstan said the 15.3 percent rise in violence is a worry although he’s pleased police are solving more violent crime.
More robberies and minor and serious assaults have been recorded.
Strategies to deal with these issues include:
Liquor bans in the central Lower Hutt city shopping and transport hub
The newly established multi-agency community kiosk in downtown Lower Hutt which aims to provide a one-shop information and referral centre for youth
The recently launched family safety/domestic violence project which sees police attending and reviewing all domestic violence files; conducting follow up visits with those most at risk; liaising with a local law firm to fast track protection orders and developing a domestic information pack which can be left with domestic violence victims.
"This is a really exciting project and we’re working closely with Women’s Refuge, Rape Crisis, lawyers and other community groups," Mr Dunstan said.
"Our aim is to increase awareness of violence in the home, get people taking action against violence and only then will we see improvements," he said.
Recorded crime drops in Wairarapa
An 8.5 percent drop in recorded crime and an overall clearance rate of 55.1 percent is good news, says Wairarapa Area Controller Inspector Rod Drew.
"We’ve been under pressure with some long running and serious investigations which have impacted on our deployment options so I’m really pleased by what we’ve been able to achieve, particularly the 18.7 percent drop in dishonesty offending.
"In that category the 23.9 percent drop in burglary, at 443 for the year and now two-thirds of the 1999 level, is especially pleasing," Mr Drew said.
A total of 4528 offences were recorded in overall crime, 423 fewer than the previous 12 months.
Violent crime, sexual offending and property damage all went up but police also solved more violent crime, lifting the resolution rate 2.2 percent to 85.4 in the violence category.
"We have experienced some particularly violent crimes in the last 12 months including the tragic deaths of young children," he said.
"It’s heartening to see however that in the last couple of months the Wairarapa community has said ‘enough’ and that violence, particularly in our homes and against our children, has to stop."
He said there’s a wave of support for a greater collaborative approach at both central and local government level, and with community groups, to take a meaningful approach to violent crime.
"We’ve a framework and desire for action but there’s still a lot of work to do in developing and implementing strategies," he said. "We’re moving from rhetoric to action and I’m confident that by working together we will make a difference."
Upper Hutt focus is on burglars and thieves
Increasing the number of Neighbourhood Support Groups is one of the tactics Upper Hutt Police are using to try and pin down the number of burglaries and thefts being committed in the area.
Inspector John Johnston, Upper Hutt Area Controller, said the city has been hit by groups of youths and juveniles, many of them coming from outside the area, and committing dishonesty crimes.
"We’ve run a series of operations to crack down on these groups and will continue to do so," he said. "It’s frustrating for everyone because we put a stop to offending in one area only for it to spring up elsewhere.
"Gang prospects were behind some of the offending and police pressure has reduced the Mongrel Mob to a shadow of its former self."
A total of 1775 dishonesty offences were reported last year (up 22.8 percent). Of this 417 offences were burglaries and 1055 in thefts. Overall crime went up 20.6 percent or 626 offences to 3659.
"In a recent operation we found two different groups of youths were responsible for thefts from cars from Palmerston North to Brooklyn."
Mr Johnston said police are continuing to identify crime hotspots and offenders, directing patrols to problem areas and following up on bail and curfew checks.
Neighbourhood Support has also been reactivated and with the recent introduction of a new coordinator he hopes this joint approach between police and the Upper Hutt Safer Community Council will see more residents forming NSGs.
"The good news for Upper Hutt is that violence is relatively stable with a 1.4 percent increase or only six offences on the previous 12 months," he said. "Most of the increase is for intimidation or threats and has been directed at police. We’ve taken strong action on this."
Mr Johnston said he was also pleased with the 46.9 percent decrease in sexual offending, and that police increased the resolution rate for sexual crime by more than four percent.
"Overall Upper Hutt has the second best resolution rate in Wellington District with 50.6 percent and is better than the district average across the main classes of violence, sex, drugs and dishonesty.
"These achievements can be attributed to the hard work and commitment from local staff."
Ends
Media note: The District tables and a breakdown of Area figures is on the police website: https://www.police.govt.nz/about-us/publications-statistics or you can email me.
Released by:
Kaye Calder
Wellington Police District Communications Manager
Tel: 04 496 3464 or 0274 373 020
Email: kaye.calder@police.govt.nz