Survey finds likely victims

New Zealand’s largest crime survey has painted a picture of likely victims of crime.

During the past year, 1,713,000 offences occurred. Of those, 1,139,000 were personal offences and 574,000 were household offences, the Justice Ministry survey said. While the level of crime was similar to last year’s report, sector deputy secretary Tim Hampton said there was nothing for New Zealand to be proud of.

However, the survey results were helping officials identify who were New Zealand’s likely victims of crime. The report found a clear link between victimisation and socio-economic conditions as people under financial pressure, living in more deprived areas, unemployed or not looking for employment and those in singleparent households were likely to be targets of crime.

‘‘Victims are most likely to be aged between 19 to 29, Ma¯ori, never married, have moderate-tohigh levels of psychological distress, lower life-satisfaction ratings and lower feelings of safety.’’

Hampton said moving towards a post-Covid world, people could be experiencing financial distress for the first time and were increasingly likely to be victims.

When it came to the survey showing an under-reporting of crimes, Hampton said it was not surprising. Just 25 per cent of crimes were reported and there was huge variation. ‘‘For comparison’s sake, 94 per cent of sexual assaults weren’t reported to police, when 94 per cent of motor vehicle theft was reported.’’

The survey found 563,000 adults experienced intimate partner violence and 938,000 sexual violence.

This was the second of three Justice Ministry surveys, which cost $3.7 million. Another report will be released in 2021.