11.50am
New Zealand has a significantly lower violent crime rate than the United States, Canada and England although it is slightly higher than Australia, according to a Ministry of Justice report released this week.
Justice Minister Phil Goff said the rate of total recorded violent crime in the US in 2000 was
nearly four times the rate for New Zealand.
Using American definitions of violent crime, the rate in the US was 506.1 offences per 100,000 people compared with 132.6 in New Zealand.
"It is a similar story comparing New Zealand with Canada. Using Canadian definitions, New Zealand's rate is 44 per cent lower," Mr Goff said.
"And the violent crime rate in England and Wales was 13 per cent higher than New Zealand in 2000."
Using Australian definitions of violent crime, that country's offending rate was 9.8 per cent lower than New Zealand in 2000.
However, Mr Goff said the results of the survey had to be treated "with a degree of caution" because different definitions of violent crime meant New Zealand definitions had to be adjusted to make comparisons.
Other factors included differing rates in each country of reporting and recording crime and differences in rules by which multiple offences were counted.
- NZPA
Full text:
The Ministry of Justice report
