Government claims to have already surpassed key crime target

The Government is claiming it has already surpassed its target to reduce the number of victims of violent crime, though it admits the data is “volatile” and there is more work to do.

The official New Zealand Crime and Victims Survey, carried out by Ipsos on behalf of the Ministry of Justice, has not officially released its latest report.

But ministers are regularly provided with topline results, and a statement from Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith on Tuesday said that for the year to February, there were 157,000 victims of violent crime.

The Government has a target to reduce the number of victims of violent crime by 20,000 by 2029 compared with an October 2023 baseline of 185,000. Using the figure the minister has given, it would show the Government has surpassed that target.

The Government says it has surpassed the target already. Photo / Dean Purcell

“The latest quarterly results for all Government targets will not be released until early June. However, given the significance of these results we are releasing them early, as we believe they are robust and in the public interest,” Goldsmith said.

“We do, however, expect the data to remain volatile, and there’s still more work to do to continue driving these numbers down.”

Both Goldsmith and Police Minister Mark Mitchell said the Government’s actions to “restore law and order” was “paying off”, citing extra tools given to police to crack down on gangs, reviving the three strikes regime, and making changes to sentencing.

“I want to acknowledge and thank our Police Commissioner and Corrections chief executive, our entire Police and Corrections teams, both sworn and non-sworn, who are working hard with their Justice sector colleagues to implement the Government’s policies and direction on public safety,” Mitchell said.

“I am very proud of the work they are doing every day to make our country safer.”