Editorial: Rotorua is not a haven for crime

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There's yet another massive drop in recorded crime for Rotorua.

It seems we are on a roll.

The cynics will say we shouldn't get too excited - it could just be people are not reporting crime as much as they should.

But not so.

Yes, we still have some crime issues in our city - too many dishonest people and too many people beating up their families.

But let's give credit where it's due.

There have been some big improvements during the past year that have helped make our city safer.

The first was national legislation getting rid of legal highs or synthetic cannabis. The number of drug-crazed weirdos begging for money around the streets in the CBD has definitely dropped.

The other is police having iPads and iPhones to help them more efficiently do their jobs, freeing them up to be more visible.

Rotorua police area controller Inspector Bruce Horne has also mentioned an important factor that has played a key role in the results, and that is local police staff.

Rotorua police is packed with people who care. For many it's not just a job and it shows in the results.

Now we need to match reality with perception.

When celebrity chef Ray McVinnie was asked to do a report on our city as part of the Raising The Bar campaign, he found there were too many people who had a negative perception of the city and its crime rate, which didn't match the true picture.

Can we now please shake the perception we are a crime haven? Let's enjoy these results and move on promoting the positives of our city.