Serious harm cases up 25% — Bridges

National Party leader Simon Bridges says the number of cases before the courts involving serious harm has increased by 25 per cent since the 2017 election.

He is basing his statement on answers to written parliamentary questions from Justice Minister Andrew Little to National’s justice spokesman, Mark Mitchell.

Nationally, cases of serious harm were up 25 per cent, with an increase of 20 per cent in Auckland, 35 per cent in Waita¯kere, 32 per cent in Wellington and 40 per cent in Christchurch.

The number of active cases could be affected by seasonal patterns, comparing April with October. However the figures show that nationally the number of serious harm cases before the courts in October 2017 was 17,189, that they steadily increased last year to 19,554 in December, and rose to 21,645 in April 2019.

The question asked of Little was: “What was the number of total active serious harm cases, broken down by district court, each month since October 2017?”

It is not clear whether the increase was due to more crime or a bottleneck in the justice system, or both. Neither the question nor the answer defines “serious harm cases” but Bridges said they would include rape, sexual assault, murder, manslaughter and drug crimes.

Bridges said statistics showed crime was increasing and cases weren’t moving through the courts as quickly. The increase in serious harm cases before the courts was also occurring at a time when the prison population was decreasing.

Little did not respond last night to a request for comment.