Under The Bridge: It's about crime - 'I don't think because someone is poor they're more likely to commit crime'

Crime and gangs pose issues in Papakura, but Inspector Dave Glossop from the Counties Manukau police says it's no different from other vulnerable communities. Photo/Michael Craig

In Papakura, in Auckland's south, crime and gangs are a regular feature of many students' lives and can affect their education.

However as Inspector Dave Glossop explains in the above video - part of the Herald documentary Under The Bridge - the town isn't unique.

"There are some really hard crime families in that area like there are in other areas. There is family violence," he says. "But I don't consider it to be more severe in Papakura than anywhere else."

Glossop says the challenge for police is where crime is intergenerational they need to show families there is a life beyond violence, which can be hard when people know little else.

And while there is a link between poverty and crime, he says one doesn't neccessarily lead to the other.

"I don't think because someone is poor they're more likely to commit crime. The more deprived an area the more susceptible," he says.

"It's like if human body is run down it's more susceptible to a cold. Some communities are fantastic and have good spirit, they're just more vulnerable."