New Zealand saw alleged murder, shootings and assaults after the Government claimed success in its crime target. Photo / NZ Herald
In the two weeks since the Government claimed it has surpassed its key crime target, New Zealand has seen an alleged murder, shootings and serious assaults.
The official Ipsos New Zealand Crime and Victims Survey has not officially released its latest report.
However, ministers are regularly provided with topline results and a statement from Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith said that for the year to February, there were 157,000 victims of violent crime.
The Government’s target is to reduce the number of victims of violent crime by 20,000 by 2029, compared with an October 2023 baseline of 185,000. Using the figure the minister has given, it would show that the Government has surpassed that target.
Goldsmith said the data remains “volatile” and that a significant factor is the “vibe” from the Government, which filters through the system.
NZ Herald senior journalist Derek Cheng told The Front Page that multiple factors feed into violent crime.
" They include access to healthcare, housing or education. It’s what the economy is doing, what the household disposable income is or is not.
“It goes far beyond what a Government is doing,” he said.
Policies introduced by the coalition – such as sentencing reforms and the resurgence of Three Strikes – haven’t really taken effect yet, Cheng said.
“The anti-gang legislation has been enforced, but Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, in the announcement where they beat their chests and say ‘look how good we’re doing on law and order’, said the new tools for police to fight gangs were already ‘unearthing illegal guns and drugs’.
“But the means to do that was by a prohibition order, which a court can hand down to a gang member if they’ve violated the gang patch ban three times. No such orders have been given. So he’s saying that something’s happened, which clearly hasn’t happened,” he said.
Cheng spoke to retired District Court Judge David Harvey about Goldsmith’s assertion that the “vibe” from the Government had trickled down and “changed the message” – and he said Harvey was quite scathing.
“He said it’s probably nice to think that judges take some notice of what some politicians say, but no, the judge’s oath is to do right to all men, according to the laws and usages of New Zealand.
“He said you deal with the case that’s before you on the basis of the law. You don’t deal with it on the basis of some mysterious vibe that’s come from Wellington.”
Since the Government praised its crime stats two weeks ago, 33-year-old PhD student Kyle Whorrall was fatally attacked at an Auckland bus stop over Easter Weekend. A 16-year-old has been charged with aggravated robbery and murder, alongside a 32-year-old woman charged with being an accessory after the fact.
On April 23, police found five duffle bags stacked with bricks of cocaine valued at close to $30 million at a Mt Wellington business in Auckland.
About 2.50am on April 24, four youths allegedly burgled a Mt Wellington dairy following “a report of a vehicle being used to enter the premises”.
A man was taken to hospital in a critical condition in West Auckland, after suffering what are believed to be stab wounds on April 25.
Three men, aged between 19 and 23, have been charged with aggravated robbery after allegedly entering an Aokautere property and fleeing from police.
A gun was fired in Auckland’s CBD in the early hours of April 27, with one person hospitalised after being seriously injured.
The same day, another person was hospitalised after a serious incident in Auckland’s Blockhouse Bay.
Listen to the full episode to hear more about the Government’s law and order policies, and whether a vibe can change crime stats.
The Front Page is a daily news podcast from the New Zealand Herald, available to listen to every weekday from 5am. The podcast is presented by Chelsea Daniels, an Auckland-based journalist with a background in world news and crime/justice reporting who joined NZME in 2016.
You can follow the podcast at iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
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