Auckland Central has highest crime rate

You are more likely to come across crime in Auckland Central than anywhere else in the country.

Figures show the area has 1530 crimes per 10,000 people- 667 more than in North Shore/Waitakere/Rodney.

Recorded crime was up 1.9 per cent last year.

The rate of people being warned, cautioned or prosecuted is still around one third of all crimes, but has climbed almost 3 per cent from 2002.

Auckland also has more than twice the number of dishonesty offences and drug/antisocial offences than rural areas such as Northland or Tasman.

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Counties Manukau has the country's highest rate of violent crime, but has made a significant turn-around with its statistics.

After recording an 8.3 per cent increase in crime for 2002, the crime rate last year decreased by 2.6 per cent.

The district's crime resolution rate has also improved by 2 per cent - just over one-third of all offences are being resolved.

The district's burglaries decreased, with dishonesty offending down 5 per cent.

Fatal crashes and violence also declined, particularly family violence and assaults.

The Counties Manukau district commander, Superintendent Steve Shortland, has applauded the work of many groups in the district, including councils, neighbourhood support and business associations with relation to the figures.

He said the district had strategically targeted domestic violence and re-victimisation.

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The North Shore, Waitakere and Rodney district is the safest in the country, with 863 crimes per 10,000 people, but it had a crime rate increase of 3.5 per cent last year.

Nearly half of the crimes (49.6 per cent) ended with someone warned, cautioned or prosecuted.

And last year, all eight homicides were resolved.

As with the rest of the country, house burglaries increased, with 473 more last year than in 2002, but numbers were still down from four years ago.

The district commander, Superintendent Roger Carson, said the rise in crime came with the district's increase in population.