Selwyn District named safest in New Zealand

NZ Herald

5 Nov, 2020 04:00 PM2 mins to read

Part of the Selwyn District. Photo / Selwyn NZ

The Selwyn District is the safest place in New Zealand based on a study into several crime categories.

Dot Loves Data has analysed crime across the country based on the number of theft, breaking and entering, illegal use of a motor vehicle, theft from a retail premises, assault and theft from a motor vehicle.

The statistics do not include the number of homicides.

In a report it said Selwyn has the lowest per capita static crime rate of any area in New Zealand at 12.68.

This means 12.68 crimes are committed in Selwyn per 10,000 people per month.

In comparison, Rotorua, which has the highest per capita crime rate in New Zealand, has a static crime rate of 61.21, almost five times higher.

"Selwyn is notable because it also has the lowest levels of deprivation of any region in New Zealand, providing further evidence of the strong correlation between deprivation and crime," it said in the report.

"The median household income in Selwyn is $103,737 and there are extremely low levels of beneficiaries. 98.2 per cent of all households have access to a vehicle, 93 per cent have access to the internet, 79.4 per cent of households own their own home."

Mayor Sam Broughton said it is nice to have something that validates what it's like to live in the district.

"I think like a lot of places in Canterbury, people know each other well and people know their neighbours.

"As a council, we have placed a huge emphasis on community events and people connecting with one another."