Theft and burglary down nearly 35% in central Auckland - council

By Finn Blackwell of RNZ

Theft and burglary are down in central Auckland, dropping by 34% year on year, Auckland Council says.

The council has endorsed a safety plan for the CBD, which includes increased patrols by compliance officers, CCTV, and investment in community outreach providers and programmes – much of which was already funded and under way.

Mayor Wayne Brown said crime was no longer increasing in the city centre.

“This has been the main point of interest of late between Minister [Mark] Mitchell and I,” he said.

“I don’t believe local government has ever worked this closely with businesses, police, and central government before.”

He said the newly endorsed City Centre Community Safety Action Plan was a must to see the downward trend in crime continue.

Auckland Council regulatory and safety committee chairwoman Josephine Bartley said they had worked with multiple agencies on the plan.

“Safety isn’t something that any one organisation can own alone, but the council has listened to feedback from the community and is taking it seriously,” she said.

“By working with partner agencies like police, outreach providers, and resident and business groups on this plan and its initiatives, we’ve been able to focus our collective efforts on actions that are already making a real difference.”

Theft and burglary are down in CBD, Auckland Council says. Photo / Mike Scott

However, a building manager downtown, believed the drop in crime was due to a lack of reporting.

Robert Macfarlane, who manages a residential apartment building on Queen St, questioned the numbers.

“I feel that a lot of people are not reporting crime, on the basis that they are of the belief that police won’t attend,” he said.

“People say to me they don’t know who to call, or they don’t think to call in the first place, and then if they do call they might not know who to call because it’s not clear.”

Macfarlane said there needed to be clearer communication with police around how to report crime, given there were now multiple agencies out on the street keeping city-goers safe.

“I think there needs to be clearer comms around those numbers, in what situations you should use various numbers, so that it’s clear to the public so they know,” he said.

Macfarlane stressed the importance of reporting crimes even if police do not attend the situation.

“It still needs to be reported, because I think that if stuff goes unreported then you get an incorrect reflection in the figures and the statistics that are coming through.”

He said he had spoken with council about the progress being made, but said more still needed to be done.

Macfarlane said a brick and mortar police presence in the city would make a difference.