Mitchell eyes knife crime rise abroad

Police are developing a strategy to combat knife crime amid concerns it could reach levels seen in Britain and Australia.

Police Minister Mark Mitchell says he’s raised his concerns with police and is welcoming the strategy.

It comes after Mitchell’s recent meeting across the ditch with Australian police leaders at the Police Ministers Council meeting. Before the meeting, Mitchell had said Australian crime trends “tend to come to New Zealand’s shores soon after”.

Speaking to the Herald after his trip, Mitchell said he had observed knife crime becoming a “big problem” in Britain and Australia. He had asked police for advice and was pleased they were working on a strategy.

“I just want to make sure that we are proactive and we do all we can as a country to make sure that we don’t end up in a situation like that.”

A police spokesperson said police were considering “patterns of risk and how best to respond”.

In January, the Guardian reported UK knife crime had risen by 5 per cent in the year to September 2023 and robberies involving a knife were up by 20 per cent. In Australia, the proportion of homicides caused by sharp implements has risen to 43 per cent in the five years to 2021, according to Reuters.

According to the NZ Police data, there had been a 4.5 per cent increase in victimisations involving a stabbing or cutting weapon in the past five years.