More hate crimes in NZ now, says criminologist

Hate crimes are increasing, according to a study by a Victoria University criminologist.

The research was prompted by such incidents as the attacks on Jewish graves in Wellington, and Muslims being posted pork and letters containing insults such as "burn the Koran".

Since the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the United States, New Zealand police have boosted recruit training on identifying hate crimes.

The growing immigrant population has amplified the need for the training.

Victoria University criminology master's degree student Jennifer Ross presented her study on how New Zealand police dealt with hate, or "bias" crimes, to a world criminology conference in Tasmania on Tuesday.

She said later that while anecdotal evidence pointed to a rise in hate crimes, police were adept at recognising and dealing with the issue.

"It's really encouraging," she said.

Hate crimes included those against racial, religious or sexual groups.

New Zealanders tended to be more welcoming to different groups than many other countries, and, perhaps because of that, the level of race-hate crimes had not reached that of other countries, Ms Ross said.

But Race Relations Commissioner Joris de Bres said he was not certain there had been an increase.

It was hard to judge because police did not keep such records, he said.

"I'm not certain that there's an increase, but there's certainly an increased will on the part of the police and of the court to deal with this."

Officers were working with ethnic communities on strategies to get a better understanding of cultural diversity, Mr de Bres said.

Ms Ross said her study focused on Wellington but probably reflected the changing environment nationwide.

Estimates of hate crimes were based on anecdotal evidence from police.

Police Maori-Pacific ethnic services general manager, Superintendent Pieri Munro, said all recruits were now taught how to deal with the "complex issue" of hate crimes.

Police planning and policy national manager Dave Trappitt said Ms Ross's report was being studied by the Police Commissioner's office. A system was being developed to record whether crimes were motivated by hatred, but it would not be ready before 2008.

- NZPA