Auckland City Council has called for more police resources after a three-month study of policing levels.
It says Auckland needs more officers to answer the "unique demands" the city's crime puts on its police.
The city advocacy committee pinpointed reasons the city needed a higher ratio of police to population than other areas.
A report before the committee said Auckland had several key factors that identified communities with large numbers of people likely to commit crimes, or those likely to be its victims.
These included the number of people aged under 30 and the proportion of economically disadvantaged, single-parent families.
The number of Maori and Pacific Island people living in the city was also significant.
Auckland had the highest rate of offending in the country for violence, disorder, burglary, vehicle-related crimes, theft and dishonesty.
People were drawn into the city to commit crime.
About 40 per cent of offenders arrested in Auckland City were from outside the district.
The report said that anecdotal evidence suggested that many burglars and those who stole from cars in the central business area came from South Auckland.
The report noted that there was a current staff shortage of 36 in the Auckland City police district and a high staff turnover.
"Consequently, 30 per cent of staff have less than two years' experience in the job."
There was also evidence that the types of crimes committed changed in response to public events.
Police noted that, during the America's Cup, more young people came into the city later at night.
They often brought their own alcohol and stayed in the city longer - up to 5 am.
This put additional demands on police.
The report said a minimum requirement for Auckland was a ratio of police to population equivalent to that of the Counties Manukau district.
Auckland - with an estimated population of 387,600 and 679 police - had a ratio of police to people of 1:570.8.
Counties Manukau, which has a population of 336,540 and 741 police, had a ratio of 1:454.
The council will send a submission to the Government claiming that Auckland City has "unique and extraordinary demands placed on its police" and that the police are under-resourced.
Auckland City's call is backed by the central city business group the Heart of the City.
Spokesman Alex Swney said the organisation had recently conducted a survey of visitors to the central business district.
Visitors' second-highest concern after parking was their security, he said.
Their concerns were apparent during both the day and night - even though people were probably safer in Queen St than they were in their suburban homes.
"It's everything from skate-boarders on the footpath to poor lighting in carparks to hoons racing up Queen St on a Friday night."
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