Petition demands action on crime

A petition calling for stronger laws, tougher sentences and greater transparency and accountability will be presented to Corrections Minister Judith Collins in Auckland today.

Many who signed the petition are from the group of 15,000 who took part in an anti-violence march last year, says Asian Anti-Crime Group head Peter Low.

"We are presenting these signatures to you in order to commemorate those who marched for safer streets, as well as to remember the passing of Navtej Singh, Yang Yan Ping and Joanna Wang, whose murders sparked the march," Mr Low writes in a letter to accompany the petition.

Navtej Singh was fatally shot in his liquor store, Yan Ping Yang died after being attacked by an intruder in her home, and Joanne Wang was killed when knocked down by a fleeing vehicle after her handbag was snatched.

"Violent crimes had reached an all-time high and the community ceased to feel safe in their homes and on their streets," the letter says.

"The hopes of those who marched, those who died and those continuing to live in fear, rest on the shoulders of this new government."

Among the group's demands will be the removal of Corrections chief executive Barry Matthews, Mr Low said.

"The minister's failure to remove Barry Matthews simply indicates that this Government has no teeth. There is no point having tougher laws if the authorities cannot carry them out."

A meeting today on law and order has been organised by the Auckland Regional Ethnic Council to enable representatives from ethnic communities to discuss Government standards for law and order and community-police resolutions.

Mr Low said "hundreds of people of all cultures" would be present to hand the petition to Ms Collins and Internal Affairs Minister Richard Worth.

The petitioners felt New Zealand's lax laws and the difficulties in implementing them were encouraging many to "turn to a life of crime" - especially in the current economic crisis.

"We are seeing more victims on a daily basis who are fearful to live even in their own homes," Mr Low said.

An increasing number were falling prey to petty thefts, burglary and home invasion.

Last year, the murders of the three people of Asian ethnicity in South Auckland prompted thousands to march in a protest calling for stronger laws and tougher sentencing.

Mr Low said that since that protest, many community groups had asked to work with his to combat crime and it now operates under an umbrella known as the People's Action Community Safety.

Mr Low had proposed to hire triads and form vigilante groups to patrol South Auckland to protect Asians but has backed down from those ideas.