Violence, car thefts on the rise at universities

Crimes including violence and vandalism appear to be rising at some New Zealand universities.

In 2013, 23 violent incidents were reported at the University of Otago. Five years later, there were 72 in a 12-month period.

Wilful damage incidents increased during that period from

69 to 104. The university said the rise coincided with the installation of a new CCTV system.

At the University of Auckland, occurrences of graffiti and property damage jumped from 107 in

2016 to 136 in 2018.

Car break-ins and thefts were increasingly prevalent at the University of Waikato. In 2013, there had been three reports of such offences. In 2019, there were at least 30.

Massey University declined to provide information about crimes at its facilities between 2013 and

2018. In 2019, there were 10 reports of threatening or abusive behaviour, six of theft, eight of vandalism, four of harassment, one physical altercation and a car theft.

Victoria University of Wellington declined to provide full records of crimes on campus, but confirmed that an incident involving inappropriate filming in

2013 and a complaint about filing fraudulent invoices in 2016 had been reported to police. Both resulted in criminal convictions.

Lincoln University said it did not receive any reports of crimes between 2013 and 2018.

No noticeable trends were found in data from AUT and the University of Canterbury.

University crime rates were difficult to compare because of different security processes and data collection and storage.